Day 127: Lots going on in Ontario

Earthquake!

Tornado!

G8 and G20 Summits!

 Protests!

My truck is still missing!

Christa graduated from 8th grade!

Grade Eight Grad. It's a big deal here. Big ceremony, Pomp and Circumstance, Valedictorians, speeches, everyone dressed to the nines in formal wear and dinner for the graduates followed by a dance.

In an earlier post there are photos of Christa and I shopping for dresses for the occasion. The dresses she was trying on were very practical and modest. She agreed that it would be better to buy a dress that she can wear on other occasions, rather than spending hundreds of dollars on a dress she'll probably never wear again.

One of my Canadian friends expressed concern, and warned me that some people go way over the top - buying expensive dresses, getting professional hairstyles and  nails, etc. She didn't want Christa to be taken by surprise by this and maybe feel plain or under-dressed.

It was quite the opposite. She received lots of compliments on her hair and dress from the other girls. She looked beautiful, confident and definitely looked the most comfortable. Some of the girls looked very awkward in their revealing dresses.


The Class of 2010 and me singing  O Canada (very badly)
Christa enters at about minute 1:53 :)

Day 113: Have you seen me?

I never lock the doors when I park the ol' Burban. Usually I even leave the windows down.
I have always said there's nothing in it worth stealing, and if they want it that bad, they can have it. The radio (with broken cassette player!) only gets one fuzzy radio station, and the speakers are crap.

Nick and I went outside this morning to go to the Farmers Market, and where my truck usually sits, hulking and unwieldy among all the sensible Canadian cars, was my empty assigned parking space.

Actual conversation:

Me - Where's my truck?
Nick - Not there.
Me - Nope.
Nick - Where did you park it?
Me - Right there.
Nick - I'm confused as to why someone would take it.
Me - Me too.
Nick - Were the doors unlocked?
Me - Yes, but I think I remembered to roll the windows up.
Nick - I guess we should call the police.
Me  - I think this is probably the best thing that has ever happened.
Nick  - lol

So he called the city police and filed a report, then a very nice officer came out and chatted with us.

He basically said there's nothing they can do but "wait for it to turn up somewhere, eh?"

A few comments from facebook:

Auntie Julie: oh my gosh! seriously? Oh I hope they don't hurt it!

~There's really not a lot they can do to hurt it much more. 

Auntie Di: Ahhhhh! :( Not very bright thieves, eh? Should've checked the gas gauge before they left. Usually they don't go more than a few blocks anyway, just far enough to strip everything off that they can.
~We're hoping they realized what a pile it is and just decided to ditch it close-by. It's 20 years old. The tires are not even that great.

Nephew Cory: wait..... people steal stuff in Canada?

~According to the nice officer, no car is safe in this town, no matter how big of a pile it is. 

Joanna from Utah: Oh my word.... What are you going to do?? I only thought Utahns were into the suburbans with all our kids and stuff. Maybe your suburban is the only one in Canada and they wanted something unique to steal.

Becky: That is crazy! Of all the cars to steal, what are they going to do with your huge Suburban?
~True, Jo. We have not seen a lot of Suburbans here. Also we have a second car to get around in.
And you're right, Becky. We are baffled too. We figure the only reason they took it is because I made it incredibly easy for them.

Ms. Nancy: So sorry. It did get you from Point A to Point B didn't it? I bet you miss it.
~It did indeed get us all the way from Utah to Ontario. True that. But I don't miss it. Yet. 

And the truest comment of all from Lara, our sweet neighbor in Utah:

You have such a optimistic look on this! Good for you. 

It's like you didn't mind at all that the old beast is gone! (-:

Day 107: Show some hustle!

I grew up in Utah where I didn't think people were in a hurry, but something we have noticed about Canadians is they don't seem to be in a rush. Ever.
I should think that with all the coffee that is consumed in Canada, people would show a little more hustle.

When I visited the east coast of the US with my friend Kazzy last summer, she taught us the fine art of...promptness? Or haste?
Think the Soup Nazi on Seinfeld.

Not that it's a bad thing to be a relaxed and in no hurry, but when you're in the left turn lane and the arrow turns green, to me that means GO! We were a couple cars back when the green arrow appeared, and the first fella in line just sat there. Sure, that has happened to me - not paying attention - but at home this causes a cacophony of horns which instantly makes you step on the gas. No horns for this guy. Everyone sat patiently till he was good and ready to turn left. This has honestly happened to me here more than once.

And service in restaurants? Forget about it. They'll fill your water glass when they get around to it.

Another thing that is bugging me is the odd times that places close. The mall closes at 6:00 on Saturday night!?
The library closes at 5PM Friday and Saturday. Most stores close around 8PM. Boo!

Those are all the complaints I have today. Thanks :)