Mom Moves to Calgary
A couple of years ago, just as COVID hit, my mom decided it was time to move into a “home”. She’d lived on her own for nearly 20 years at that point and her condo was no longer as fun as when she moved …
Topic
Moving
51 posts tagged with this topic.
20 years from Ontario
Two decades ago today, I did something immensely stupid: I left home. Literally and figuratively. Twenty years ago, I was still sleeping in my room on Gatestone Avenue in Oakville. While I had lived on my own at …
A year in Canada
A year ago tonight, my family returned to Canada from Costa Rica. We had lived abroad for a year and a half, and had done our best to make a go of a new life in a new country. But it wasn’t to be, and we finally came to …
12 things I miss about Costa Rica
It’s just shy of three months since we left Costa Rica. Many people still ask us what it’s like to be back, if we’re happy to be back, and if we’ve acclimatised yet. There’s no quick or easy answer to all of that, as …
There and back again, a Monkey's tail
This is a joke you might not understand until you’re older, Monkey. For now, it’s one many of my friends will have a good chuckle at… You’re asleep right now, in your own room, on the mattress from one of our sofa …
You can never go home again
When I was a kid, I heard the phrase “you can never go home again”, but never understood it. I mean, I went home every day after school, so what was wrong with that? It wasn’t until I went to university that …
Adios, Costa Rica
Eighteen months ago, I set foot in Costa Rica. Not as a tourist (despite what my visa said), but to make a new life abroad. My family (Alex, Monkey, and Asia the Cat) would join me a month later. One big, happy family, …
T-minus one week and counting
One week from … well, right now, our plane leaves Juan Santamaria Airport, bound for Houston. If all our cards fall into place (which, so far, they are — I just hope they keep falling!), we’ll leave in good order. …
Taking a pet from Costa Rica
It figures, just when we thought we’d started to have everything figured out, we hit another snag. (There’s always another snag.) This time, it’s with Asia, our cat. Our problem is not with Canada — all they need is a …
Anyone want to buy a used car?
That ticking is getting louder, I tell ya. We’re officially out of the “long vacation” timeframe, and into the “standard” two week vacation timeframe. You know this one: enough time to fly to a …
Topics
To end, this shall
Today I watched the setting sun Golden fringed clouds Mustard streaks over the horizon I thought This, too, shall end I count in weeks Soon to be days Soon to be hours Then minutes The arms swirl forward …
Topics
3 weeks remaining in Costa Rica
Today marks 21 days until we leave Costa Rica. Three weeks. We officially enter a period of time that could be a “long vacation”. Sadly, a vacation is something we’re not going to be having. Instead, we have …
Topics
Alberta communications companies suck
It’s about as official as it gets, now. We leave Costa Rica on 8 December. Which means that on the morning of 9 December, we’re going to be needing a few things. We’re trying to establish as much of that as we can …
True story
As you know, I’m going to be moving back to Calgary in December. The exact timing for that is still being determined, but let’s just go with the broad stroke: we have a lot of stuff that needs to be done as part of …
O Canada, my home and native land
For anyone who’s been reading this blog for a while, you know two things: I currently live in Costa Rica. I’m Canadian. One of those things is about to change. Almost a year and 2/3 ago, I caught a rumour about Critical …
Odio pasar a un nuevo hogar
I hate moving. But you already know that. About two weeks ago, our first lease came due. This is when I had hoped to renegotiate our lease, as I felt the rent was about 33% higher than it really should have been. …
Finally got my box!
Way back in June — the 13th, to be specific (I guess that should have been a first sign, eh?) — I packed up a whack of things on my desk to bring down to Costa Rica. TeamMG (Mary and Morgan) arranged for this to be …
All packed up with somewhere to go
Well, so much for an easy day. I suppose I was asking for that, eh? We left the hotel a little later than planned, and the movers (three guys in their 20s) and the two cleaners were already at our front door engaged in …
A Moving Birthday
When we started planning this crazy little excursion to Costa Rica oh-so-many months ago, there was always the need for me to leave in advance of my family, and then come back to get them. The logistics of making …
One week to go
I’ve been in Costa Rica for over three weeks now. Three weeks away from Alex and Mi Pequeña Niña. Each day has been a challenge being so far away from them. The longest I’d ever been away before was six days. Six short …
Starting life in Costa Rica
Think of when you went to university / college. You pack your things into a few bags, move to a new place you don’t know, into a place you think is far too expensive for what you’re getting, and then have to go out and …
Alive and sick in Costa Rica
As you might have seen on my Tweets this morning, I’m alive in Costa Rica. But I’m not “well”. My daughter gave me a parting gift — a nasty head cold. Fortunately, it didn’t kick in until I arrived here, …
Lastday. Gemini 13s. Year of the Company 2008. Carousel begins.
I’ve been with Critical Mass (Canada) for 8 years. Eight years, two months, and 9 days. Today is my last day. Sorta. On Sunday, I leave for Costa Rica. Although I am working for another company, I’m still technically …
T minus 5 days
I’m beginning to know what a shuttle launch must feel like. Anxiety about what could go wrong, the knowledge that once the launch happens that there is little to do but hang on, that when you’re in orbit you’re pretty …
Topics
On Cats, Wire Transfers, Death, and Taxes
This moving thing is no fun. Not at all. Yes, Costa Rica is a nice country, with nice people, and we’re arranging a very nice place to live, but the act of getting there is far more work than I could have imagined. We …
T minus 14 days to Costa Rica
Yeah, I’m back in Calgary, but this is only for the last bit before moving down (semi-)permanently. We have a place to live. That’s important, because it’s a place to go to. That would make this move even harder. But …
Topics
Finding a Costa Rican Casa, Day 3
Yesterday, I was pretty convinced that I was hooped — there was no way that I was going home to Canada with a place all squared away. The task just seemed close to impossible. It’s amazing what 24 hours can do, though. …
Finding a Costa Rican Casa, Day 2
I knew today was going to be awkward when I woke up. Based on the conversation I’d had with Alex last night, none of the houses we’d seen on Day 1 were at all suitable. Either way too large, in not-so-nice areas (e.g. …
Finding a Costa Rican Casa, Day 1
Oy. It’s been a really long day. Didn’t sleep great last night (long travels tend to do that to me if I’m not traversing a dozen or so timezones, in which case passing out is a snap). Got up early thanks to the engine …
No, I'm not going to be working on a beach
It’s funny the number of people who now ask me if they can come with us to Costa Rica. They congratulate me and make it sound like it’s going to be fun, sand, and cervesa all the time. News flash, folks — we ain’t …
I'm leaving Critical Mass
I’ve been at Critical Mass for 8 years, 1 month, and 5 days. That’s a long time to be a one place. I never thought I’d be here that long. Two years, max, and I’d move on. (Heck, I was originally supposed to go with Chris …
Things to do before moving
Moving within a city is a snap. It’s a lot of work, yes, but logistically it’s not a big deal. You disconnect some services, sign them up at a new location, move your phone numbers, arrange your mail, and then move your …
Thundercats are go!
The contract is signed. It’s as official as it gets until my feet stand on Costa Rican soil. Most everything was already 99% assured, but until my name appeared on a legal document, there were still a whack of questions. …
Letting the toucan out of the coffee sack
Finally, after many, many weeks of discussion (and far more email than I’d care to think about), it’s semi-official. (Hey, it’s better than “still in the works”.) The fact that I’m moving to Costa Rica has …
Do you know the way to San Jose?
I love challenge. I love adventure. And I love to travel. If you’ve been reading this blog, you already know that. Critical Mass is giving me an opportunity to do all three. It’s going to shake up my life a lot (not to …
The easiest move ever
So my friend Adrian finally bought a place of his own. Impressive, given what he had been looking at only a few months ago. And he chose well, too. It’s not a bad place at all, and if he treats it well, should appreciate …
Houses sold and moved
I hurt. A lot. Yesterday, with the exceptional help of good friends, we moved into our “new” house. This after a major screw-up with U-Haul (they neglected to tell us when the truck was actually available) …
Ugh. Moving again.
As you’ve already heard, we’ve bought another house. It’s actually smaller than our current house, but should allow for a little more flexibility, and easier for us to content with the arrival of our firstborn in a few …
Friends move away to Montreal
I hate saying goodbye to close friends. Early this morning, Therese and Stuart boarded their WestJet flight with a trunkful of luggage and two cats. They’re moving to Montreal. By about this time, they’re over Ontario, …
Painting my house (among other things)
I need a weekend from my weekend. ‘Course, it’s my fault for trying to do so much at once. For the last couple of weeks, I’ve been preparing to paint my house. (The outside, that is.) I should have painted it last year, …
Moving Nana from Prince Albert to Calgary
Well, it’s Easter time again, and that means a lot of family events out here in the great Canadian plains. The major difference this year is what sort of family events we do. In previous years, it’s been a massive dinner …
Cleaning the Apartment, Rug Doctors, Golf, Wedding Showers
I remember when I used to have time to kick back, relax, and spend an afternoon watching TV. I think I was five. This weekend past was yet another in a string of busy, hectic times. As June rolls towards a close, many …
Chris Goes to Japan ... the Second Time
Maybe this is forever, Forever fades away, Like a rocket ascending into space, Could you not be sad, Could you not break down, After all I won’t let go, Until you’re safe and sound. — “Safe and Sound”, …
Preparing to Move to Japan
Although it’s very tempting to say that it’s the beginning of the end — it wouldn’t really be appropriate. It’s no longer a guess, it’s not a possibility, it’s not even a plan anymore. It’s fact. Chris is going to Japan. …
Moving into Critical Mass' New Building
It’s been a weird week. Imagine trying to do “business as usual” knowing full well that in a week you’d be working out of a new office. That’s pretty much what last week was like. Critical Mass is big. As of …
Topics
Chris' Arrival in Calgary, Living with my Best Friend
My time here in Calgary is finite. I’m not staying here forever. Don’t get me wrong, I like this city — but there’s more to this planet than a single settlement near the foot of the Canadian Rockies. When I first arrived …
Moving into my First Calgary Apartment, Mother's Pizza
I hate moving… I’ve been doing a lot of it lately. I’ve moved three times in the past four months. Makes the moves I did in co-op seem trivial (I moved only every four months). But this time I’m not going anywhere …
Left Vancouver, Job, and Girlfriend for New Start in Calgary
[Ed. Note: This is the actual message I sent to most everyone I knew, letting them know what had just happened.] Today, I completed two of the most traumatic experiences of my life. One was leaving Radical Entertainment, …
Moving to Vancouver's West End
I hate moving. I mean, I really hate moving. As you know, we moved to a new apartment yesterday. Based on the amount of time that it took to move Brian and Gill from their apartment to their house, I assumed (rather …
Moving into my First Apartment in Vancouver (Burnaby)
Today is the big day — I finally get my apartment, and I can make a trip to IKEA so I can put something in my apartment other than myself! At any rate… The weather out here has been really good lately. It’s been …
Moving to Vancouver
We arrived late last night, no thanks to our most punctual airline. We made the mistake of taking a charter flight. What made it worse that the charter airline sub-contracted another charter airline to fly us to …