no marathon this year

So I set out yesterday on an ambitious plan to go register my self for the Detroit Half Marathon (my outta shape body prolly can't handle any more than that!), but alas! it took so frigging long to get across the border that I didn't make it in time to get registered. [note to self: must STOP procastinating].

Ah well, there is always next year. I think I'm slowly starting to recruit people for next year too. I got Nitin, and Peats to say yes, and I'm sure I can convince Shiv and Brij too, may be I can get a relay team going? I guess that a lil too ambitious for next year.

Good Times in T-Dot

I got to Toronto last night and crashed at Dhirens place. It was quite the experience for us getting coffee this morning. We finally convinced Saleha it was too cold to drive and went to a Timmys (no suprise there). Going thru the drive thru, the lady (whos obviously Indian) had the hardest time taking the order, to top its off she tells me to wait and then comes back a few minutes later askign me if she could take my order =S. We finally pull around to the window, pay for it and she asks us to pull over so she can bring it out. Pull out in this dinky lil parking lot and wait a whiles before she comes out to give us our stuff. And then as we begin to pull out of the lot we have this trucker who insists that hes gonan go thru first and comes charging at my car to stop inches away from where Dhiren was sititng. All this for a cup of coffee and a bagle !

We got around York for a while before we headed out downtown. Charming, very Chicago like, only more people living in an around down town. Dhiren thought Saleha and I were absolutely batty coz we wanted to get some Ice Cream. Who says one shouldn't eat icecream in the winter?

We dined at this Indo-chinese place which came with its very own chinaman that could talk in Hindi! Boy was that a hoot, apparently the guy was born and raised in India. Go figure! We conned our way up to the CN tower to get some after dinner drinks and get a view of the city. Boy was it breath taking, and we could see lights far out into the lake which we were told was Rochester, NY.

To end it all some good rose flavored sheesha.. mm good times!

Montreal

All the whiles that I was in Montreal, its been gloomy and raining. To top it off they has shut down the Highways, and I did not wanna venture out taking the back roads into town.

Its a prety cool city with a lot of old world charm and history. They have a huge Basilica a replica of the cathedral in Notre Dame, and so named the same out here as well.
McGill has a med school, may be I can try applying there, although my french is so rusty Im not sure that Id be able to survive out here.

ahh well we'll see, its off to Toronto again tomorrow and back to Windsor

Garba in TO

Just when I thought I wouldn't be able to go Garba this season, Mom told me that I was going to the Garba with Palls when we got to TO.

We finally go there about 5 after making a stop out at the Niagara falls. Promptly after which we headed over to the temple for some puja thing that was going on there.

The bunch of us got outta the temple to see if we could get going to the Garba only to find out the big one downtown that every one was talking about was last night, so we finally figured that there was one at the mandir and made our way out there. It was a blast! Sadly our midnight after garba snacking wasnt at a Dennys or an Ihop but at a Tim Hortons =D.

Apartment Hunting

So I finally moved to Windsor, Canada and have been searching for apartments, and I can't seem to find a decent apt complex out here. Who'd have thought there be that much a difference in living between Canada and the US. A few others I've learnt, I NEED to carry cash, something I haven't really done in forever! They sell milk in packets, not gallon bottles, but packets that u sposedly put in a jug and snip the end off it to pour it out! There's a Tim Hortons on EVERY corner! and the banks here have never heard of free checking or chequeing as they say it.

Who'd every thought I'd be going thru serious culture shock coming to Canada from the US!

Wedding galore!

A wonderful start to the day getting under clothes for the groom (now remember this is a well kept secret). After the package was dropped off, Jeff and I went out into the city to go see Cheers! the facade from the outside is very similar, but the inside is nothing like the show however. Dodging traffic afteward however, we barely made it back, and we were starving. so I set of on a mission to get us some food. Now one would assume that when they see signs of the highway saying food this way, that its not too far off from the exit, but apparently in Boston none of them really are! I had to drive in nearly 7 miles to find a BurgerKing. (if you request the cardboard cup carriers order the small drinks, apparently they dont have the provisions to carry large drinks out) It would have really helped if the lady could have told me that to start with!

None the less made it back to the ceremony just in time. It was a beautiful ceremony, and Kate looked awesome in the saree as y'all can see. The pujari did an awesome job explaining to every one what each of the things were. heh.. I know I hadn't a clue what each of those things meant. Im sure it helped the larger non-Indian audience appreciate it more too.

Nitin howver, had to shell out $200 to buy back the shoes. In all fairness I think the girls really didn't do a very good job negotiating it. They could have gotten so much more. haha their loss!

A famished wedding party that we were, hungrily chowed down on the food before we were to change for the other ceremony, the other a simple ceremony at the parish afterwhich we had more pictures to take, followed by a an awesome reception and dinner. Ahh good times!

We wanted to pay a bell boy in the hotel to keep knocking on their door every 20 minutes, but Kate seemed to have kept it a well guarded secret, so much so that even Nitin didn't know where they were staying at!

English nostalgia, and awesome seafood

Boston roads are CRAZY!!! and the drivers are crazier! These roads are nostalgic of the tiny lil path ways they call roads back in England. New England did really retain its old world charms. As Jeff put it today, its amazing that you could have a million dollar home on a street and four houses down it could be a complete shack.

Oh and whats with a stop light that flashes GREEN? Ive seen flashing reds, flashing yellows, but what the hell is one supposed to do at a flashing green?

We finally got our Tuxs' fit, took only about 2 and a half hours to do so... Thank you Afterhours Formal Wear! Nitin was almost of on edge trying to make every thing go perfect, we finally calmed him down and got some alcohol into him, which seem to make things go a lot smoother. Course the procastinators that we were it was a mad dash back to the Hotel to get changed and back in time for the rehersal.

The minister could not remember my name even though I told her it was Baby Huey! Apparently, it complicated things although, every one else seemed to remember it fine.

Dinner was superb! Who can complain about good food , wine, conversation and the Bo' Sox winning over the Yankees?