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A Serious Grilling
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| Tuesday, March 28, 2006 |
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That's what the recruiter said my interview at a certain investment bank would be like. All I knew was that it was a highly respected team of people who work directly with the trading floor (ie., high stress and get yelled at a lot). I figured I was okay with the technical and math components, so my preparation the night before involved reviewing all the business material related to the job.
I walked in there more nervous than usual, not exactly sure what "a serious grilling" would entail. Are they going to do something weird like accuse me of being late just to see how I react under pressure? Are they going to fire off 10 questions and see if I remember them? Will they ask the beloved, "Give me an example of a situation *when*..."?
So I enter the boardroom and the first question they ask is: "Do you know how to play Russian Roulette?" Gulp. ...
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Covert Ops
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| Wednesday, March 15, 2006 |
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Operation Allied Lobster accomplished. It’s been pretty tough over the last few weeks keeping our visit to Atlantic Canada a secret. The occasion? Mel’s mum’s 50th birthday. You should have seen the look on her face when we walked in the door. Of course, I do have experience in making clandestine trips to the Maritimes. The last time I slipped unnoticed past the Sussex cows was when I had a diamond ring in my pocket. Planning this trip was a little less stressful!
After spending a relaxing few days in New Brunswick, and making not a few trips to Tim Horton’s, Mel is on her way back to London and I’m at my mom’s in Toronto for a wee visit. Glad I arrived in time to see everyone at Lansing – we miss you guys!! :(
Well this special agent has had enough excitement for one day. Time for bed!
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Movin' On Up
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| Thursday, March 02, 2006 |
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Two floors, that is, to a different flat in the same building. As mentioned previously we had just purchased a car, and due to an administrative error we had no where to park it (a slight inconvenience!). We thus had to give our two month's notice and find a flat that *did* have parking.
So there I am one day, working away in the living room innocently trying to make the world of online investing a better place, when suddenly I thought I heard someone turning a key in the door. I've heard the neighbours go in and out before, but this time it seemed a bit louder. "Hmmm, the front hall really carries the sound quite clearly," I thought to myself. I kept working, but also kept hearing sounds, as if someone was chatting outside the front door. I was curious and got up to go look out the peep hole. I walked out of the living room and stepped back in shock. Am I seeing things, or are there people in our bedroom?!
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When you think "British", you think...
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| Sunday, February 19, 2006 |
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No, bad weather does not count, and wouldn't (quite) be true anyway. BBC and the Design Museum are asking the public to choose their favourite example of British design since 1900. So what do you think of when you think of "British design"? Red telephone booths, Doc Martens, the Mini, the Underground, or maybe the Concorde? How about the Word Wide Web? Or... Tomb Raider?? We put our vote in for the double decker Routemaster bus. London without double decker buses would be like a Canadian city without Tim Horton's (on every corner).
Speaking of Timmy's, is there a better example of Canadiana? The CN Tower? The hockey rink? Poutine? What's your vote??
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T'ain't Modern
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| Saturday, February 11, 2006 |
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We decided a while ago to make sure we visited at least one site in London each week. On today's itinerary was the Tate Modern gallery of modern art. The location is pretty cool. It's housed in a huge converted power generating station on the bank of the Thames, just across from St. Paul's cathedral.
Well, we have never been much into artsy things. The idea of appreciating art is neat I suppose, but this was a gallery of "modern art", and I think the contemplations required were a little too deep for me at least! Take the exhibit labelled, "Self Portrait of a Business Man". This was an actual guy's suit, wallet, cell phone, briefcase and other office items basically dumped onto the floor in a pile. The viewer was told to consider the exhibit and think about where the individual was now. Well I think he was the guy snickering in the corner watching everyone trying to contemplate his pile of dirty laundry! The exhibits ranged from the usual weird paint stuff...
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Point A to Point B
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| Wednesday, February 01, 2006 |
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Upon arriving here last October, Mel found her "commute" was actually a 1.5 hour (each way) tube-rail-bus-walk marathon. So it turned out that a car was necessary after all. Well we now officially do have "wheels". The aforementioned test drive turned into a purchase, and today I picked 'er up! We're now the owners of a 2002 Hyundai Coupe. But no, you didn't pronounce it right. It's "coupe" pronounced with a French accent aigu on the end. So for francaphones it's properly said, "Coupé", or for anglophones, "Coupe, eh?" Well actually in Canada it's called a Tiburon, and I have no idea what that translates to.
After comparing it to similarly priced cars, picking it *out* was relatively easy compared to picking it *up*...
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Stay off the roads!!
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| Tuesday, January 17, 2006 |
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Or maybe the sidewalks. Or at least start driving on the wrong side of the road. That's right, I test drove a car today! This day was looked forward to with much dread (and I'm not just talking about my fellow Londoners -- I was pretty nervous as well).
The sales guy picked me up at the tube station (an hour northbound from our flat), shook my hand and met me with a smile. But that smile soon faded. "I've just recently come over from Canada, and this is my first time driving on the left side of the road," I announced. "Well that scares me," sales guy replies. "You had to pick me didn't you?" My nightmares didn't come true though...
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Drop them snowballs and come out with yer hands up!
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| Saturday, January 07, 2006 |
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Apparently while we were away, the Northern UK and even Kent (southeast of London) were blanketed in a few centimetres of the white stuff! The temperature was to drop to -8°C in some parts of England, as the UK braced itself for more freezing weather and snow. Travellers were advised to re-route or postpone their journeys, but as it turns out, slippery roads were to be the least of their worries.
In 24 hours, more than 100 calls about snowball incidents were reported to police in south east Kent. Police reminded the public, that people throwing snowballs could be prosecuted for assualt in cases where they are used to attack people causing injury...
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Home again, home again, jiggity jig
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| Sunday, January 01, 2006 |
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Back "home" safe and sound. Survived a true red-eye, surrounded by people from a corner of the globe where they understand neither queues nor carry-on baggage requirements. Chaos reigned supreme, and didn’t sleep a wink. Thankfully the transit strike back in London didn’t seem to affect anything, and just a few stations were closed. We had a nap and went out to catch some fireworks. Happy New Year!!
This evening we went to a sing at some friends of friends and were made very welcome. Jason and Elizabeth gave us a ride home, which was rather interesting because we really don’t have any idea where we live! It made for a nice site-seeing tour of London. Thank you to our two very generous taxi drivers!
A safe and happy new year to all.
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plus européen (and have a Happy Christmas)
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| Monday, December 19, 2005 |
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Well here we are back in The Great White North. It felt like planes, trains and automobiles, after a 1.5 hour Tube ride to Heathrow, a 2 hour flight to Milan, a 2 hour stopover, a 9 hour flight to Toronto, then a cab ride to my mom’s. At least there was snow to greet us at the airport.
HG said it was nice to see that we hadn’t changed, but that eventually we’d start looking more “European”. I was wondering exactly what constitutes looking “more European”. At all the sun spots we’ve visited we’ve always been surrounded by a number of Germans, French and Italians, and the two things we’ve noticed to be in common are cigarettes and Speedos. Well if that's what it takes I suppose I'll have to remain proudly Canadian! ...
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