Halloween and my new car

I've been planing to buy a car for a while now, and finally Elio saved me. He got me a 1999 Honda Civic in mint conditions. So now i have the car, what's next? I got my drivers licence translated, but it wouldn't work since i need a permission from the Lebanese government, so i called the embassy and asked them about it, they had NO idea at all about what i'm saying. I had no choice except for applying for a Canadian drivers licence. I had to read a 158 pages book for the knowledge test, and finally sat for the test and passed it. I was happy i had my licence, soon enough to discover that this license is too basic, and i can not even use it. I can not drive alone, 0% alcohol in my blood, i can not drive between 12 midnight and 5 AM, and lots of other silly rules, so i had to give in my Lebanese license to th Canadian government, and apply for an advanced road test, once i pass it, i will be able to drive alone. HOWEVER, since i got my car, i've been driving it to school. It's taking about 4 minutes to get to school by bus (a highway), BUT it's taking about 1.25 hours to get there on a bus.

October 30th,2009:

Friday night, the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra is performing, and the concert is a special event for Halloween. It was one of the best concerts I've seen so far.

The second day, we went to celebrate Halloween at the Union Hall. It was a blast. I was a naughty pirate :-) ! Funny, weird, sick, sexy, erotic, unique, artistic.. costumes everywhere lol. crazy...

Second weekend of October, my first date and a happy thanksgiving

Saturday, October the 10th:

I have made a reservation at Allegro restaurant at Downtown for two persons, Heather and I.

This is my first real date in ages, I tried to pretend that i wasn't stressed about it, not sure if it worked though...

I took the bus to go to downtown, and at one of the bus stops, a drunk guy jumped in the bus, and was asking not only for a free ride, but he also wanted 12 bucks so he can buy himself a dinner. He spent about 10 minutes talking to the bus driver, and finally got off the bus! He was soooo drunk! Meanwhile I received a text from Heather saying she's going to be late, but guess what, I was the late one :) !

I arrived to Allegro, it was a really nice restaurant, i wouldn't give it 5 stars since there was no super fancy decoration and whatnot, just a little nice Italian resto!

The evening was really nice, dinner was good, the wine was great, company even greater, and finally I decded to play a couple of songs on the piano they have in the corner. I met the pianist and the restaurant owner as well.

As we were having dinner, one f the waiters came to me, gave me the restaurant's business card and asked me to call them in case i was interested in playing at that restaurant as a pianist. We finally decided to go somewhere else,so we went to Salsa! I can't remember the places' name, but it was a nice place (first time to go to a bar in edmonton). I can't say i danced Salsa, i'd rather say i TRIED and somehow it wasn't successful at all ! I tried to copy people, I stepped on other people's feet... We had a couple of beers, enjoyed our time there and left. I dropped by to see Heathers' cats and her fish tanks.

Sunday 11th,

Happy thanksgiving,

Woke up around 7 AM, I didn't have much sleep tonight! I went to give Bambi her diet pill, let her out for a while and feed her. I talked to my parents and family since my cousin was getting married while i was writing on his Facebook wall CONGRATS! I studied for a while, had lots of coffee to keep myself awake when Elias called me he's coming to pick me up. We went to Georges' , it was a special dinner, i met more people and enjoyed the family spirit/gathering they have and they way they all considered me that i AM a family member and made me feel that way too, I enjoyed the vino as well.

Elias, his wife Sandy and his parents drove me back home, and it was snowing heavily! I went straight to bed as soon as i got home.

After a long break, i'm blogging again

It's been a while since i got the time to write about my experience so far, but as i'm writing now, the snow is falling outside for the first time this year and it's -11 degrees Celsius already, so I guess i will have plenty of time add write more on here.

How i met Sary - the story :

Before moving to Edmonton, i was on facebook, then i went to my friends' profile to wish him happy birthday, and i noticed a guy called Sary did that before me, and he was in Edmonton's network. I asked him about how's life here and whatnot... and then informed him that i'll be coming here, that was almost 1 month before i came here.

After i came to Edmonton and had my internet installed, i went to this mall nearby (Capilano Mall) to buy a wireless internet router... and all of a sudden, i hear someone calling my name with a question mark "Nidal?" i freaked out and turned arround to see Sary standing there wondering if it was me. I have no idea how this happened, but he was there at his parents' restaurant, and saw me passing by. I had no idea it was their place, and he had no idea if it was me... but he tried. Of course he insisted on offering me a great meal (which his mother still do EVERY TIME i get to visit her even if I was just dropping by to say hi, she always makes me eat, and if she couldn't , she will make sure she give me a bag with plenty of food inside !).

How i met Romeo and so on...

I got my cell phone, and a "blonde" was the person who sold me my phone and plan and whatnot, and soon enough i wasn't able to make any phone calls because i was out of credits! I called the service provider to find out that she actually missed a couple of things, but i couldn't blame her, she was a good looking blond haha, and i still drop by to say hi every time i'm in the mall!

I was looking for car dealers, when Sary told me he knows a guy who's good in cars... and he's lebanese. I called Romeo for the first time (was trying my cell phone for the first time too), and he sounded like a 38 years old guy... he was busy and he told me i'll call you later... (i didn't know Romeo by then)...

Then i met Romeo at his work so we can check out a couple of cars... and he turned out to be a different person than i expected, he's younger than me, a funny and decent guy. And so far every time i call Romeo, he's always busy and he always calls me back hehe ...

Sary's engagement party was a blast, although i felt a little bit odd which is normal. (Picture above)

I've been meeting a lot of people (Canadians, Lebanese, Indians, Chinese... it's Canada hey?), some of them are worth getting to know, and some of them are not even worth waisting your time, and i would like to apologize for being offensive but it's the truth, and it happened to everyone of us i guess... was it a long term friendship, relationship, or a single date/meeting...

So far, school is the second best thing I've been experiencing in this country, as for the first best thing, it's the friends I've made so far... i won't be mentioning any names on here, but they simply know they are great people. As for what I've been doing lately? Getting more involved in the "Canadian cuisine" lol , more shopping, studying, projects, etc...

We are starting a small business for web development and consultancy (Web Portrays), hopefully it would grow with time and i'm simply taking advantage of the opportunity i have here for now.

Symphony under the Sky, i was able to attend one of the open air concerts held by the Symphony orchestra at hawrelak park. I went there with Lynn's friends (Gloria and Roxanne) as Lynn couldn't make it,

too bad i didn't have my camera with me..

My first days at school were ... different, everything was so new to me... not to mention the transportation part that is actually wasting a LOT of time since i'm using the public transportation. As i started to go to the gym, i had to stop again since i can not afford spending two hours by bus everyday to get to the gym... I'd rather wait to get myself a car.

A good thing i'm enjoying is having access to the pianos' room at Concordia, i get to play once or twice a week, and I kinda feel a bit rusty which is bad, but i'm still trying to find a place to play, even if it was once a week and on weekdays.

2 weeks ago i've witnessed the biggest motorcycle gathering at Capilano, Sary and some other friends were there

Today i received a mail containing my Alberta ID, so now i don't have to carry around my passport with me everywhere! I managed to buy some books online which were three times less expensive than the school library which is awesome !

Anyway , enough with the story of my life, i will get back to daily blogging soon !

What i've been doing lately

I haven't been doing much lately, except for helping Willy a few times. Wilson (Willy) is an 80 years old man who happened to be our neighbour, and he's always finding stuff to do, and hard luck for me that he likes to build fences, move heavy stuff, fix doors and whatnot, and he can carry nothing ! He's so happy i'm here i bet ! Everyday he comes over asking for help, nagging about his age etc.. lol

Yesterday he invited us for dinner, we became friends somehow, but too bad we can't go clubbing or fishing or horseback riding. He wouldn't make it, hehe ! I should get a photo for me & Wilson soon !

I'm going out for a walk or run everyday, sometimes i'm taking "bambi" with me.

Margerite family is here for a few days, and it happened that her x-husband is a good guitar player and singer, he's a composer too.

I went out for dinner at Elias, his familly was there and two priests from Lebanon. I met new people and would visit them this sunday in church to meet the rest of Lebanese in town.

I don't know why i'm tired and sleepy most of the time. I guess my body is getting used to the new timing, sleeping, waking up etc...

It's Friday evening, Mason (Margerittes' grand child) just came down and called me, they are having marshmallows in the backyard. I went out, they are having a hot dog BBQ and marshmallows, and root beer arround a small fire, and Margerittes' X husband is playing his guitar and singing. This guy has recorded more than 16 albums so far, and will be recording his new album in the nest 20 days in the states since it would cost him 3 times more to record it in Canada. We had a nice conversation and we talked about too many things.

It's 12:49 AM, i should go to bed, tomorrow is a new day :) !

My first few days in Edmonton

Friday July 24th,

First morning in Edmonton, i got up at 6.15 AM and couldn't sleep anymore, knowing that i haven't had any sleep at all in the past 30 hours.

It wasn't the best night i've had since i'm not used to the weather here, i spent most of the night taking off cloth, and then putting on cloth. hot, chilly, chilly, hot...

I can hear Marguerite walking in the upper floor, but I'm still feeling tired and don't feel like going up.

I planned to have a walk in t

he neighbourhood today, to get to know the area. But I'm expecting a phone call about my Internet today, so i got stuck home.

I unpacked some of my baggage and started placing them in my room / bathroom, but i still need to get myself a closet with drawers, or else it's gona be a MESSY room,

then i had breakfast (tea

and a jam sandwich, because i had no idea what all those stuff in the fridge were! SHOPPING REQU

IRED :) ).

I watched a movie "Marley an

d Me" since the time is passing by too slow. I guess today would be a resting day at home, and most probably tomorrow i'll be exploring the city. Once i had Internet at home, i'll try to find a bike, and some interesting places nearby where i can visit them by bike.

1:20 PM, went for a walk towards wallmart, found two food shops on the way that i'll be using regularly i guess, and thought that a bike IS the solu

tion for my transportation without a car.

Found a grocery store at the corner near my house, and went to buy some yummies, but my "Audi Bank" credit card wouldn't work there. So i came back home starving, empty hands, then i though i could go to this Internet cafe nearby to check my

email and text my pare

nts.

Home, shower, bed...

Saturday July 25th,

Woke up very early since i'm still not able to sleep more than 5 hours / day.

Elias called me and picked me up

, and we headed to silven lake. LOTS of people, just way too many.

The lake is nice, water park, water activities, something you wouldn't immagine in Canada.

I had too much food today, Elias almost killed me with food, 3 meals within 8 hours !

I got home and i'm so tired. I

took a shower, and while i was putting some c

loth on, i heard Bambi bar

king and doing weird sounds, i went o

ut to check on her and play with her, it wouldn't work. Then it turned out that Margeritte is at home, and Bambi is pissed cause she wouldn't let her in.

Margerittes' mum came for a visit, she's 96 years old. She practically told me the story of her life, how life was before foreigners started coming to Canada and whatnot, and that she had a great life.

bed...

Sunday july 26th,

Woke up too early as usual, started th

inking about things i sh

ouldn't think about. Finally got out of be

d, went outside for a walk (it was raining at night, and i was a bit chilly outside).

I had breakfast (break, peanut butter with jam) in the backyard. Then margeritte woke up and asked me to check the "grass machine" for her since it wasn't working, and she wanted to buy a new one.

Turned out that the wires were twisted, so after i fied it (Margeri

tte was in the church), i tried it in the backyard, and ended up doing all the backyard.

Margeritte came back, she was happy with this, and told me "Ohhh ! We have a front yard too ! " :( !

Today i learned how to do my laundry. It's not a hard process at all, but just learned, didn't do it yet !

Elias picked me up arround 12:30, i had to email my insurance company about my new address, since i had to find anther place 4 days prior to my journey to Canada, i talked to my mother, some friends, told them i'm doing okay ove

r here.

I went to wallmart to buy food items, fruits and whatnot, and a really cheap shirt i liked. Clothes at wallmart are like 4 to 5 times cheaper than Lebanon. I looked for cell phones, a closet, bikes... Of course the cashier at wallmart (indian lady), over charged me by letting me pay for a "Tomato Fetta" cheese, whereas i was buying "Kachkaval" !

Then we had lunch at Elias' (burger, it was so good ! ), and we drove in the city, then passed by a park (the parking was 12 $ WTF !).

Today, my vision about this country changed, maybe because of all those people i saw today at the park made me change my mind. You just see too many people, with different races, different styles, clothings, colors, languages, backgrounds, and one thing i can tell is that almost 95% of the people i saw yesterday have a lack of "hygene" ! Which made me think about school, and made me really hope that people at school would be different? Or else i'm gona have a hard time getting along with most of people in here.

I walked for like 3 hours at least today, came home tired and went straight to bed. Well, not really ! Margerittes mum made me some soup, i had it with bread and butter, it was so good. (Native canadian indians soup) I left her a note on the kitchens' table telling her the soup was really great!

Monday, July 27th,

I can hear Margeritte shouting upstairs, her mum has a problem with hearing and you just have to shout as loud as yu can so she can hear you.

Then i heard her mum saying, "oh come on , wake him up for me! i wana teach him how to make soup before i leave ! he loves it". I was half asleep when margeritte came own asking for help, she had to carry the big oxygene machine her mum uses to her truck, and it was sso heavy, i don't know how she lifted it up and carried it into the house all by herself.

it's 7.58 AM now, i'll go have breakfast, then ... gardening !

I cut the grass of the front yard, then came in home & watched a movie "Knowing" for Nicolas Cage.

I fell asleep and woke up arround 3 PM, had to make myself lunch, scrambled eggs with hot dogs, salad and coke.

Margeritte came home, and then she got some visitors that i met. We talked for like 2 hours, and then took the dog out for a walk. I found a shortcut that leads me to the river, it's a nice place for walking, running etc... then i exerciced for a while in my room, push ups, adbomin, triceps.... can' wait till school starts so i can start going to the gym again :) ! Did i mention that "Bambi" pooped on the sidewalk, and i had to pick it up using a plastic bag? that was gross, it's the first time i do this!!!

I'm watching TV as i'm writing this, and they're talking about "sexually transmitted infections and diseases" , obviously this is the second common topic / issue in Canada after divorce and whatnot. I wonder if they have any statistical information about the percentage of divorce, or seperated people, or single women with children... anyways, what captured my attention is the "Safer drug use kit" they are promoting, so you don't catch any diseased when doing drugs ! It's awkward, instead of rising awareness about NOT doing drugs, they tell you "Oh, Safer drug use kit would help".

I went to First Cup caffee, had coffee there, and on my way back, i passed by a bakery and got strawberry pies and just had two :) , and then introduced Margeritte to "zaatar", and she's already in love with it :D !

I'm still having a hard time with the sleeping part, i hope i'll get used to the timing here soon since i'm not over the jet lag yet.

Shower, music, bed !

The arrival

Thursday July 23rd,

After a long trip from beirut - london, London - edmonton, i met some lebanese at the airports and airplanes.

Elie and his Wife picked me up from the airport at 6 PM and drove me to the "wite house" where i'm supposed to be living for the next two years during my period of studies at Concordia.

Finally i got to meet Margerette ! She's a nice old (not very old) woman who lives alone with her dog,

she loves animals. It turned out that she's one of the very few pure native indians of Canada (that's native canadians who were here hundreds of years ago, who lived from hunting, fishing and whatnot).

We had a nice evening getting to know each other, she introduced me to the culture of her people (as native

indian), and some religious seasons that native indians are still doing untill today.

Margerette is Christian, and she is religious, howver, she's been married and divorced twice.

She has a married son who lives on the other side of town, and a beautiful daughter who's out of town to a small iland in british columbia on a vacation.

10:07 PM, it's still bright outside and not dark ! I had to set up my room (it's a basement with a private bathroom), move out the stuff to the garage, which made me way more tired than ever.

I had to visit our neighbour to use his internet connection to text my parents back home and tell them everything's fine here. I h

ave no internet connection in my room yet.

11:35 PM, I just finished my bath

, I'm laying in my bed feeling so tired... i'm asleep..