I know it's time; one big step Argh. I'm going to a wedding tomorrow for my old Bishop's roommate from fourth year. She and the boyfriend she had all the way back then are finally getting married, here in Ottawa, so that worked out good for me logistically. It's the shopping and the primping that's going to kill me.

The wedding is outside, behind the National Art Gallery at the point overlooking Parliament. So up 'til now I didn't even know how the weather was going to be. Thankfully they're calling for a sunny day and high of fifteen, so that's good for the ceremony. They had arranged a back-up venue in case of rain, but it's nice that this will work out. But how do you dress for an outdoor fall wedding..?

I haven't been to many weddings. I'm not so up to date on appropriate wedding guest attire. So I was picturing a pantsuit with a lacy camisole or tank top. And after checking with my fashion consultant (that'd be Persuade, in case you forget), my plan seemed like a good one. But she stressed the importance of having a "dainty" shoe - a stiletto with a nice skinny heel. Eep.

So I hit the mall tonight with Devin (he's a good shopping companion, more patient than me). I tried on a bunch of suits at Jacob and they seemed decent enough, except I wasn't loving the camisoles they had. I was worried about looking too office-y, so I was staying away from button-up shirts. With a few potential items chosen, I opted to stroll down the hall to Mexx to see their offerings before making a decision.

I got lucky and scored a lovely "fashion consultant" who seemed serious about pulling together some outfits for me. He selected a few suits, tank tops, and some creative pieces that weren't really my style but still fun. And I ended up settling on a button-up shirt and pinstripe suit, with a skirt instead of pants. Now I'm still worried about looking too corporate, so I found some shoes that are fun and flashy, if not a tad uncomfortable. Aren't they cute..?

The dude at Mexx also recommended and set me up with a woman who does hair privately, so I've got an appointment before the ceremony tomorrow.

So many damn details! And I haven't even planned my accessories yet... I'll show more pics of the final ensemble after the wedding. Devin is accompanying me to the wedding and for his birthday last week I bought him a smashing shirt and tie, so I daresay we'll be a dapper pair. Not that that's what the day is all about, but with the chance of seeing a bunch of people from university that I haven't seen in ten years or so, I'd like to be at my best, you know...?  | ¶ 10:28 p.m.

  all I can do is love you to pieces, give you a shoulder to cry when you need it On a lark today I'm watching a bit of the Fox News Channel. I have to admit that they do a good job at appearing to be a legitimate news source. They have slick graphics and enthusiastic reporters. The host of the morning show I'm now taking in is effective, but there's just enough subtle right-wing commentary that I find myself getting annoyed.

They've been covering the passing of a new bill in Congress that sets out the guidelines surrounding the rights of detainees and how their interrogations are handled. This has been a contentious issue, with even some prominent Republican senators like John McCain speaking out in criticism of the proposed document. Apparently everybody has now come to a compromise now - although I heard that not much changed overall to protect individuals merely accused of participating in terrorist activities. So the bill will go to Shrub to be signed.

Edie Whatshername, the host of this show, was getting the story from another reporter, who also mentioned that Democratic senators had an issue with the bill, in that it did not protect the rights of Americans, because we need to adhere to a standard of reciprocity - i.e. how would like our military people treated in other nations should they be captured and interrogated. Edie said something like, "now that bugs me, that these Democrats are more concerned with protecting the rights of terrorists. I would like to know, too, just how quickly they would get our men a bible and a workout facility...!

I assume she's referring to the story we've all heard that in Guantanamo the detainees were provided with a copy of the koran and were given access to a gym. I wonder if she's also heard the stories about the vicious abuse and torture of these same individuals. So that just sounded ridiculous to me. That's like saying that if you give a child a doll to play with, they shouldn't complain about the neglect they suffer. One subjectively good thing does not negate all the bad, Miss Edie. I'm not sure if a Universal Gym is on the minds of the men who are being force-fed and deprived of most of the day-to-day aspects of human diginity that we take for granted.

The sad thing is that she probably represents a pretty popular view on this issue.  | ¶ 11:33 a.m.

  would you still be my compass The way I describe the location of my apartment in Ottawa is "good location, but not much of a neighbourhood". Not that the neighbourhood is scary or dangerous - it's just that there's nothing here, really. We live off a busy street, on a bit of a "promenade" that consists of several large apartment complexes, and the only handy things within about a fifteen-minute walking distance are a Shopper's Drug Mart and a Tim's. I suppose I got spoiled in Calgary living right across the street from a shopping plaza. I miss my London Drugs!

On the up-side, the building is super-close to the "transitway", a road designated for bus use only. My ride to Carleton is usually about ten minutes, and my bus comes every fifteen minutes all day, so I have no issues with transportation. The bus system is great in this city, really. But I swear the bus drivers are a bit crazy and one of these days I'm going to either be sick or see somebody get run over. The transitway, since it is open only to buses, has a speed limit of 80 kmph. Well, the drivers whip along there probably closer to 100, veering around sharp corners and slamming on the brakes when we approach the next stop. I've never been prone to motion sickness in my life, but I've felt a little ill a few times on these speed machines.

This morning leaving Carleton I had a driver who was a tad impatient with the pedestrians, too. He pulls up rather quickly on some oblivious dude taking his time getting off the road, then he pulls in super-close to the sidewalk, where dozens of students are waiting, so close that I saw a guy duck, because I think the mirror clipped his ear or something. Eep.  | ¶ 1:26 p.m.

  them other boys don’t know how to act I'm SO glad to see that Rick Mercer has finally gotten back to the blogging (dude was slacking off this summer). He's got me giggling. An excerpt:

Speaking of the short bus I see that Jack Layton has distinguished himself on the international front by coming up with a solution for the Afghanistan situation. Jack is calling for peace talks with the Taliban. About time the NDP get back to their more loony roots. For a while there they were coming off all semi-sensible...

Agenda for Historic Peace talks between Jack Layton and Taliban leader - room 202 Casino Du Lac Leamy, Quebec

8:00 am – Jack Layton opening comments and welcome to assembled media and Taliban representative.
8:05 am – Taliban representative walks to podium, poses for photographs with Mr. Layton.
8:06 am – Taliban representative cleaves Mr. Layton in the forehead with giant axe.
8:08 am – Peace talks end.
8:10 am – Olivia Chow says she is "encouraged by talks” – announces plan to run for leadership of NDP.

Hilarious.  | ¶ 4:26 p.m.

  when I get there I will see myself It's hard to know where to go for stuff (i.e. food) in this city a lot of the time. We took a chance on that diner last weekend and it was yummy, but our second gamble didn't work out so well. Last week we were craving some late-night poutine and ended up getting a delivery that was pretty disappointing (although my fries weren't cold, they had a frozen taste to them). So for Devin's birthday celebration, I was crossing my fingers that my internet research would pay off.

I've learned that Elgin Street here in Ottawa is a good place to go for a variety of restaurants, coffee shops, pool halls and bars, and the neighbourhood seems to have a good vibe. I had it in my head that an Italian restaurant would be a good idea, so I jotted down a bunch of addresses and tried to find as many mentions or reviews on the web as I could. This place called
"Fresco Bistro Italiano" sounded promising.

Oh, except one thing - when we got to the address at 354 Elgin Street, the restaurant had a different name. We almost missed it because it was now calling itself "Frescociello". It was a busy but cozy little restaurant - the food was fabulous (we had calamari to start and pasta dishes as entrees) and the service was quite good. I'm a big fan of places that are attentive with the water glass re-filling - they scored big points for keeping us well-hydrated.

After dinner we strolled up Elgin Street in search of a pub. We ended up settling on D'arcy McGee's, a place we'd been to once before and quite enjoyed (fabulous "warm goat cheese salad" and fish & chips). It's on the corner of Elgin and Sparks Street - within sight of the parliament buildings. Since it was a nice evening, we opted to sit on the patio for a bit to enjoy our pints of Rickard's. I was happy we did when a bagpipe band set up just outside the door and played some fun tunes. It was the City of Winnipeg police band, and they were quite good. In this pic, Devin is turned around watching them play and that purple spot you can see behind him is the final scene from a light show they put on at the parliament buildings in the evenings during tourist season.

When it got a bit chillier, we went inside and watched the live music for a while. I even managed to win a CD by "Cherry Suede" by correctly guessing the name of the original performer of one of the songs they covered. We met some interesting people and generally stayed out too late and consumed a few too many beers, but it was a fun evening to celebrate Devin's 24th.

If you want to hear the bagpipers, I took this little video clip. I recommend scrolling forward to about the one-minute mark where the drums kick in. Since it was kinda dark out, the visual isn't fabulous.
  | ¶ 9:28 a.m.

  Happy Birthday, Devin











  | ¶ 10:32 a.m.

  for you, Mom   | ¶ 10:50 a.m.

  even though the gods are crazy Last week when I was standing in line at the bookstore to make a gazillion dollar purchase in the textbook-buying scam imposed on students (okay, it was only $400, but still), I overheard the following conversation between two girls behind me:

GirlOne: ...so I got my dad set up on a new cellphone plan; I found him a really good deal!
GirlTwo: oh! I did that for my dad recently too!
GirlOne: honestly, my dad is so clueless when it comes to these things...
GirlTwo: seriously, mine too
GirlOne: like, he just goes for anything that sounds like a deal. He thought that "anytime minutes" really meant ANYTIME.
GirlTwo: ha ha ha

I officially belong to the club of the clueless. I certainly did not know that "anytime minutes" were not actually anytime minutes. But yeah, how did I not figure that out?!  | ¶ 12:05 a.m.

  there is no combination of words I could say Yesterday I finalized my courses for the semester. I tried attending a few that I wasn't so taken with and had to drop a couple - like "intro to legal studies" where he congratulated us on making it through high school. I figure at this point I probably shouldn't be wasting my time and money on first-year classes like that, even if they're interesting and potentially easy. I managed to design my schedule so I only have classes Monday through Wednesday, so that makes my free time pretty flexible. Good for getting my reading done and tackling some research for term papers.

Here is my class list (I'll post my schedule another day):

Intro to Research Methods in Political Science
Public Affairs Analysis
Canadian Political Institutions
Global Political Economy
Canadian Political History

In weather news, there is about 1000% humidity in the region lately. The air was thick with a muggy haze yesterday, then it rained overnight, but it's still pretty damp everywhere.

I like it.  | ¶ 2:42 p.m.

  so many secrets to be found amid the falling snow Yesterday was a good day. I figured playing "tourist" would probably be a good way to learn my way around a bit and to just learn about some of the history of Ottawa. So after a nice long walk along the path behind the parliament buildings and at the entrance to the canal, I now know why a bunch of stuff around here is named "Colonel By" or "Byward". Way back in the day, it was the colonel who was charged with drilling his way through crazy terrain to create the canal joining the Ottawa River to Lake Ontario. It took him and his team six years and was a pretty amazing feat of engineering - and this was in the middle of the 19th century. We were blessed yesterday with some of the best weather I've seen since arriving here - sunny and mid-twenties. I may have even got a light tan on my arms...

Ottawa is growing on me more and more. We drive around downtown and in the "Glebe" area, and it's really just very cool the number of interesting sights - diners and bagel shops, antique stores, street vendors, coffee shops with huge street-side patios, dog parks, people everywhere. There are people who have said that Ottawa is a lot like Calgary - well, maybe in population size (we're just under a million here, I've heard), but that's all the similarity I can find. This place doesn't feel like Calgary to me at all. It doesn't sprawl for miles in every direction, every neighbourhood doesn't resemble the last, you can't smell money in the air, they aren't knocking down every building older than 50 years to make space for something bigger and better (wouldn't be much left if they did!).

And after only hitting the bar scene once, I can say that the nightlife is radically different. We walked for blocks around the "Market" area and were amazed at the number of little pubs and dance bars we kept seeing. Seemed like there was something for everyone all within this one area (which wasn't tiny). Okay, I take that back - there wasn't anything to compare to Cowboy's in Calgary. I suspect a country bar wouldn't really fly in this town.

There were a lot of people out on Friday night, and since we didn't have a particular bar in mind, we just settled on one that looked reasonably busy but without a crazy line. That brought us to Pier 21. We did a lap inside before settling ourselves on the patio. It was funny when we stood observing the dance floor - we were standing next to some empty booths still containing people's drinks and personal possessions, but the dance floor was jam-packed with all the people from the tables. Must have been a high-demand song, because you just got the sense that they were all very serious about grooving to it. Oh, and inside wasn't smoky at all, since Ontario has done this crazy thing where they make you smoke outside instead of inside at bars and restaurants (I know!).

Since we woke up yesterday craving a greasy breakfast, I did a bit of internet research and found the Elgin Street Diner. We were perusing their menu before we left and were amused to discover that you could get poutine with your breakfast (see the "Hangover Breakfast" or the "Blue Plate"). The diner was pretty nifty - they never close! Devin indulged in the Blue Plate breakfast and I enjoyed a special called "Sausage Biscuit Benedict" - served with "cheddar hollandaise sauce", because you can never have enough cheese.

It feels very cool to me, discovering Canada's capital city. I have to admit that I'm pretty ignorant about a lot of the historical buildings and cultural attractions. Devin will mention, oh! there's the Museum of ___!, and I'm like, the WHAT? So I will be getting myself educated somewhat on these things. Even just learning about the canal yesterday was fun. As an outsider, all I knew was that I'd seen pictures of people skating on a frozen canal in Ottawa. I didn't know where it went and what its purpose was, but now I do. We saw a lot yesterday, but there's still a lot to take in. I'd like to go inside the Parliament buildings and take a tour. I'd like to see politicians and government in action ('cause that'd be cool, don't you know). And I can't wait for the leaves to really start turning, because there isn't much more beautiful than autumn in the East.

You can see all my tourist shots here.  | ¶ 9:26 a.m.

  who was I to make you wait A story told in video clips. I'll say more about our day later.









  | ¶ 9:14 p.m.

  been far away for far too long Okay, busy night on the acquisition front. We hit Ikea, Wal-mart (shh!), Best Buy and Canadian Tire.

We had lost our mailbox key and finally got a replacement today. When I checked the mail, I had received my final paycheque (the amount was more than I was expecting) and a benefit cheque, so that meant I was somewhat flush with cash (as flush as you can be as a student). I'm still waiting for my loan money to come through, so this helps tremendously with making the transition from floor-living to a more civilized situation.

So today: a small television, a table to put it on, a computer desk, and a coffee table. Devin and I plan to seek out some used furniture places on the weekend to find a couple more substantial pieces like dressers. We now have enough furniture to put stuff on, but are still lacking on things to put stuff in. It's quite the clutter zone in the apartment. Not great for feeling organized and on top of things. But we're getting there.  | ¶ 11:58 p.m.

  I'm gonna do some things you wouldn't let me do I know you're all wondering where the hell I am and what I've been doing and why there has been a serious lack of updates around here (besides the lack of reliable internet chez moi).

I needed a break. Things weren't going so well in my own head, as I mentioned in a post a few weeks back. My shaken sense of confidence and identity meant I needed some quiet time away from the situations and people in the world I escaped from. The thing about blogging is that you have this audience that you're all too aware of. My friends, my exes, my former co-workers, and more significantly, my family. Things around here don't get very personal - neither about me nor about the people in my life. I don't vent when somebody close to me pisses me off ('cause that would be juvenile). Hell, I can't even voice opinions about the people who provoke me who don't EVEN read the site without creating some kind of controversy (see exhibit A). So the picture you're getting is actually pretty limited and only touches the surface of things.

Before I left Calgary I was feeling stressed out in a big way. All the chaos of moving, the prospect of moving to a brand new city and attending a brand new school with a bazillion faces I wouldn't know, all combined with the pressure of learning to drive the standard (which I never actually did) - when it really hit me what I was taking on, I was mostly struck with "what the hell am I doing and why?" I kinda didn't need any more pressure, but it felt like some of the people closest to me seemed to think my situation was worthy of ridicule somehow. When you're feeling aimless and vulnerable, this does not help anything. I was losing it and there wasn't really anybody who recognized or understood this.

Hence the disengagement from the public. Let me flounder and be ridiculous in some kind of privacy for a while and once I'm re-combobulated, I'll get back in the swing of things. I never said I was cool.  | ¶ 1:43 p.m.

  I just arrived, I'm at the door of the place I started out from I haven't exactly dived (dove?) into things here. It's baby steps in many aspects of the move. I missed a couple classes, I dropped one, I picked up several more (some for the winter semester). I slept on the floor for a long time but finally purchased a heavenly futon mattress. I bought a nice chair.

Moving without furniture at this point of my life has been rather challenging. I'm hesitant to spend much on new acquisitions, but when you move to a new city, knowing where to seek out used stuff presents a challenge. We've tried to take note of our closest grocery store, closest gas station, closest shopping mall, closest beer store (!). I like that there are Tim Horton's coffee shops everywhere. There are TWO on campus at Carleton.

I'm learning the bus routes. I'm learning the neighbourhoods near my home and school. I'm making plans to play tourist and visit some nice Ottawa spots. I'm making plans to rent movies and get caught up on quality sleep. I'm debating finding part-time work. Class scheduling is different here, with many of my classes taking place only once a week, so it turns out that I don't have class on Thursdays at this point. Some office temp work might be manageable.

I already have assignments for several term papers. My classes are quite large. And I seem to keep sitting near the smelly boys again. Why can't these kids get cleaned up before they come to class?!

I think I like Ottawa. It reminds me of home in some ways (home being Moncton). I love the unpredictability that you get with this level of urban density. And there's so much green and lushness. So much racial diversity. Fluent bilinguilism. Unique buildings and neighbourhoods. A sense of history. Nothing overly sleek for the most part, but it feels like it's got character.  | ¶ 2:09 p.m.

  even babies raised by wolves they know exactly when they've been used Well, our local connection smartened up and put a password on their unsecured wireless internet. So until Rogers comes tomorrow night to give us a legitimate connection, my web presence will be virtually nil. It's taking some time to get my bearings and form some stories to report, but I'll be back soon enough.  | ¶ 11:58 a.m.

  Happy 35th Frère Ker!
[people without internet connections are slacking off in their birthday greetings responsibility...]
  | ¶ 11:57 p.m.

  I feel I've stepped out of the wilderness all squint-eyed and confused My first class of the year began with a showing of this video. The prof saw the performance on the MTV awards (or something?), thought it was hilarious, and wanted to share. He also congratulated the class on getting through high school. Okay then.

  | ¶ 11:25 p.m.

  with these broken wings I'm falling I suppose there's nothing like a breakdown (of a vehicle) to help familiarize yourself with a new city.

We drove to Ikea tonight. It's about thirteen kilometres from the apartment. And wouldn't you know it, when we go to drive away, the car wouldn't start. So there we were, far from home, unfamiliar with any of the local garages, and well, screwed.

Luckily we had actually brought the yellow pages with us so we could look up furniture / mattress stores, so this turned into our resource for looking up garages instead. The first place I called recommended a towing service, so we called them and they sent somebody pretty quickly.

The dude gets there and gives us a boost. Apparently GM car batteries are a bit tricky and you have to fiddle with the placement of the clamps on the battery. Who knew, eh. Because we had actually already tried to boost it from a random lady in the parking lot with no luck.

We got as far as the local gas station on that charge. We were low on gas and the towing guy had recommended leaving the car running while we filled up. We complied, but when the tank reached the halfway point, the car just stalled. Devin tried to jumpstart it a few times in the parking lots (rolling forward into a parking stall), but no luck. All the gauges were going crazy - randomly flashing, radio coming on and off, etc. It seemed like more than a dead battery problem.

So towing guy comes back and takes Red and us to Gary's Automotive, where we left the keys under the back bumper (shh!) and my new furniture in the car. We walked down the road, caught a bus, and found our way home.

In total, the car shenanigans have cost me $116 already. Who knows how much these electrical issues are going to cost to repair. Man. I'm supposed to be a starving student!

I am rather grateful, however, that this did not happen anywhere in northern Ontario. We drove tremendously long distances up there without seeing much traffic or services of any kind. Also, that we didn't break down on the Queensway (it's the big highway through the city). Things could be worse, for sure.  | ¶ 10:51 p.m.

  roadtrip stories These might make you think I'm a dork (with reason, I admit), but I think they're kinda fun. I might get into this video blogging thing.

Brooks:



Swift Current:



Broadview:



Dryden:



Nipigon:

  | ¶ 3:44 p.m.

  we always pull through I really am in Ottawa - see?
  | ¶ 8:09 p.m.

  Ottawa!

I have arrived in Ottawa, and some kind soul in my building is sharing their internet with me at the moment. I was having some serious withdrawal!


Anyway, looks like froo did a good job keeping you all up to date on our progress. We haven't slept a lot in the past few days, so we're pretty friggin' tired (not too tired to set up the computer, though!). Check out a few of my roadtrip photos here (I just love that picture of Salsa - isn't she cute!).  | ¶ 11:12 p.m.

  froo report I'm heading out but I called the Chief just now and they are about 50 km away from Ottawa right now. They have already passed the "Welcome to Ottawa" sign but I guess that doesn't mean they're there yet. Hopefully, she can get the computer up and running and provide the next update...  | ¶ 10:08 p.m.

  Mattawa, ON - dinner @ Dixie Lee's. We're getting close!
  | ¶ 7:08 p.m.

  Latchford, ON - gas stop in the rain
  | ¶ 5:06 p.m.

  Hearst, ON

  | ¶ 11:45 a.m.

  Nipigon, ON - sleeping...
  | ¶ 12:37 a.m.

  Kakabeka Falls, ON - near Thunder Bay
  | ¶ 10:17 p.m.

  Dryden, ON - dinner @ Pizza Hut
  | ¶ 5:59 p.m.

  Portage La Prairie - Stopped 2 gas up & change into shorts. Sun's hot!
  | ¶ 1:40 p.m.

  MANITOBA!   | ¶ 11:14 a.m.

  Moosomin, SK - breakfast @ The Red Barn
  | ¶ 10:24 a.m.

  Broadview, SK - Sweet Dreams Motel. zzz...
  | ¶ 2:03 a.m.

  Regina - getting food @ truckstop. Flatsville!

  | ¶ 11:31 p.m.

  Swift Current - gas, coffee, bug carcass removal
  | ¶ 9:19 p.m.

  Medicine Hat - stopping for fries
  | ¶ 6:27 p.m.

  Forest Lawn (Calgary SE)
  | ¶ 3:57 p.m.

  there's a voice that keeps on calling me
froo says:
After a farewell party, farewell pizza dinner, farewell seafood lunch, farewell drinks, AND a farewell breakfast, the Chief and her trusty co-pilot Leduc have finally hit the road. The Chief has asked me to update her blog with their geographical progress so she will be texting me with names of towns or areas as they pass through. Since my now ex-car was elected as getaway car for the cross-country journey, I will be at home much of this weekend, able to provide updates in a timely fashion for an accurate real-time road report. (Unless someone wants to come by and take me to IKEA? Anyone?)

Let the road trip begin!

  | ¶ 3:50 p.m.

  I want to cook you a soup that warms your soul There's something rather liberating about having all your possessions in the world loaded into boxes and taken away. I am officially homeless right now, and had to fish a chilly change of clothes out of the trunk to get dressed this morning. It's a crazy way to live, but feels right today.

I had a nice little sendoff (there have been several now) last night at BU. Devin's off getting Red's fluids checked and topped up, we'll meet frou for a proper hit-the-road breakfast, and then we'll, you know, hit the road...

Bye Persuade. Bye Mark. Bye Tony. Bye Pam. Bye my beautiful nieces and nephew - don't grow up too much before I see you again. Bye family.

Good bye, Calgary. I'm ready to go now.  | ¶ 11:51 a.m.