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hel_anawhat canadian "thing" (food, beverage, trinket, personal grooming stuff, etc.) do you miss most that you cannot acquire in the states?
Oh, bunches of stuff.
Hrm.. Canadian Corn Pops spring to mind. The ones here are not hard, crunchy sweet balls of goodness. They're kind of soft and mushy. Also grape flavoured shoestring licorice, which you could find in any Zehrs store there, but I've been unable to locate here, in spite of people telling me they've seen it here. And Godet white chocolate liqueur. And Tim Hortons chocolate (lightly) glazed donuts.
Addition-Elle. I'm not as fond of Lane Bryant, though I do like their slacks..
Also snow, but that's just something I can't get in Florida, not in the States.
What two events happened in 1071 that some scholars believe heralded the beginning of the end of the Byzantine Empire?
I hate you.
Aside from the addition of that wonderful man into your life, is life itself better for you since you've moved to Florida?
Overall? That's a firm maybe.
On the positive side:
That wonderful man's kids are daily wonders for me.
I've made one very good friend who my life is tremendously enriched by, and who I would miss terribly if I had to move back to Canada tomorrow. And I have a very small circle of good friends (including that very good friend's husband). And I very much appreciate those people.
I'm professionally more fulfilled than at any point since about 2000. My career was not doing well in Toronto, and while a lot of that was the fact that I couldn't take a permanent job, and was in and out of the country on a regular basis, part of it was also the combination of the economy and hotline's crash and burn and the year I spent out of work after that. Right now, I have a fantastic job, at a fantastic company, and I love my work. Plus, I've been able to keep my work/life balance very well balanced, so i don't think I'm in any danger of burning out.
I love living near the gulf, and having water all around me.
On the negative side:
I miss my quite extensive support system, the slightly south of half-dozen I do have notwithstanding (they're great, and I'm very glad I have them, but I can't really ask the few and the proud to do the job that a whole bunch of people did when I lived in Canada). Most importantly, I don't have any family support (other than that wonderful man) in a meaningful way. For example, if I suddenly need something in an emergency, I can't call the Florida equivelent of my mother or father, because there isn't a Florida equivelent. I can still call my parents if I need advice or an ear, but I don't have any family who I trust to actually show up if they've said they would babysit, for example. And I miss the one or two friends who I could call at 3 am and know that if they could, they'd be there - that kind of depth is something that you only get after years and years of trust and mutual give and take, and I've only been here for a year and a half.
I've gotten a lot angrier since I moved here, specifically at social inequities, and I'm not entirely sure that's good for me.
I miss compact cities that you can walk around in, and small towns, and the countryside. The Tampa Bay area is so very big and spread out, and isolating.
I miss the regular contact with my Grandmother. My biggest regret about moving to the States is missing what will almost certainly be the last years of her life.
Ultimately, while I am happy here, if faced with a situation in which I could keep my little family (ross and the kids) together, and move back, I'd be over the border in a heartbeat, with regrets only about a few of my friends.
What's your father's middle name?
James.
Oh, bunches of stuff.
Hrm.. Canadian Corn Pops spring to mind. The ones here are not hard, crunchy sweet balls of goodness. They're kind of soft and mushy. Also grape flavoured shoestring licorice, which you could find in any Zehrs store there, but I've been unable to locate here, in spite of people telling me they've seen it here. And Godet white chocolate liqueur. And Tim Hortons chocolate (lightly) glazed donuts.
Addition-Elle. I'm not as fond of Lane Bryant, though I do like their slacks..
Also snow, but that's just something I can't get in Florida, not in the States.
What two events happened in 1071 that some scholars believe heralded the beginning of the end of the Byzantine Empire?
I hate you.
Aside from the addition of that wonderful man into your life, is life itself better for you since you've moved to Florida?
Overall? That's a firm maybe.
On the positive side:
That wonderful man's kids are daily wonders for me.
I've made one very good friend who my life is tremendously enriched by, and who I would miss terribly if I had to move back to Canada tomorrow. And I have a very small circle of good friends (including that very good friend's husband). And I very much appreciate those people.
I'm professionally more fulfilled than at any point since about 2000. My career was not doing well in Toronto, and while a lot of that was the fact that I couldn't take a permanent job, and was in and out of the country on a regular basis, part of it was also the combination of the economy and hotline's crash and burn and the year I spent out of work after that. Right now, I have a fantastic job, at a fantastic company, and I love my work. Plus, I've been able to keep my work/life balance very well balanced, so i don't think I'm in any danger of burning out.
I love living near the gulf, and having water all around me.
On the negative side:
I miss my quite extensive support system, the slightly south of half-dozen I do have notwithstanding (they're great, and I'm very glad I have them, but I can't really ask the few and the proud to do the job that a whole bunch of people did when I lived in Canada). Most importantly, I don't have any family support (other than that wonderful man) in a meaningful way. For example, if I suddenly need something in an emergency, I can't call the Florida equivelent of my mother or father, because there isn't a Florida equivelent. I can still call my parents if I need advice or an ear, but I don't have any family who I trust to actually show up if they've said they would babysit, for example. And I miss the one or two friends who I could call at 3 am and know that if they could, they'd be there - that kind of depth is something that you only get after years and years of trust and mutual give and take, and I've only been here for a year and a half.
I've gotten a lot angrier since I moved here, specifically at social inequities, and I'm not entirely sure that's good for me.
I miss compact cities that you can walk around in, and small towns, and the countryside. The Tampa Bay area is so very big and spread out, and isolating.
I miss the regular contact with my Grandmother. My biggest regret about moving to the States is missing what will almost certainly be the last years of her life.
Ultimately, while I am happy here, if faced with a situation in which I could keep my little family (ross and the kids) together, and move back, I'd be over the border in a heartbeat, with regrets only about a few of my friends.
What's your father's middle name?
James.
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no subject
I miss compact cities that you can walk around in, and small towns, and the countryside. The Tampa Bay area is so very big and spread out, and isolating.
"
Whew...I can relate to both of these thoughts...more than you know.
no subject
Date: 2005-12-15 03:14 pm (UTC)I spent the two weeks in the hot tub.
1071
Date: 2005-12-21 11:06 am (UTC)Are:
1) The Battle of Manzikert (Malazgirt Savaşı), Aug. 26 1071 when Romanus IV was defeated by the Seljuk Turks
2) The final expulsion of Byzantine outposts from Italy by the Normans.
Of course, it could also be their loss of most of Asia Minor.
But, as you imply in your question, this isn't really the end, only the beginning of the end; it doesn't officially collapse, I would argue, until the Ottoman Turks capture Constantinople in 1453 (I think).
-JamesC
Re: 1071
Date: 2005-12-21 02:17 pm (UTC)Re: 1071
Date: 2005-12-21 03:51 pm (UTC)In absence of an xmas-card-like-thing: Merry Xmas-like-holiday