Friday, February 29, 2008
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Toronto Eaton Centre
This is the Eaton Centre shopping mall in Toronto, looking towards the Queen Street (south) end.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Skating in the snow.
This is a digitally manipulated photo, but it's so well done and really says Toronto so I had to post it.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Wintery Driveway
Toronto got more snow!
This is a black and white photo taken with a pinhole camera. Click on the photo if you would like to know more.
Canadian Immigration
I know that a lot of people reading this blog may be interested in immigrating to Canada. I've gotten a few emails in the last couple of months asking me about this, so I thought I would write a short article.
The first thing to do is look on the Citizenship and Immigration Canada government page (CIC). That outlines the requirements to immigrate. There is an online quiz which will tell you if you have enough points to immigrate as a skilled worker. You get points for your education, language skills in English and French, work experience and things like that.
If you have close relatives in Canada they can also sponsor you.
You can't just move to Canada from the United States without a lot of preparation. Sometimes people seem to think it's like the 51st state or something. No. It's possible to get a temporary work permit in some cases, if you find a job first and your employer is able to prove to the government that there are no Canadians available for the job.
That is how my husband and I came to Toronto. He got a job, they got him the paperwork and he got a work permit. As his spouse, I was allowed to go with him. Temporary work permit holders and their families do get medical care coverage.
If your spouse is Canadian you are usually eligible for spousal immigration.
Whatever route you decide to take, immigration is hard. The paperwork is insane, and you can get different answers from different immigration employees.
It's a good idea to be in contact with other people going through immigration in terms of sorting out some of the confusion and for moral support. A good group is:
Canadian Hopefuls.
That's a LiveJournal group. You can read the groups posts without becoming a member. If you would like to participate, it's free to get a membership on LiveJournal.
A lot of social networking sites have similar groups, just do a search for Canadian Immigration on whatever site you are already on.
Keep in mind that any information you get from groups like this needs to be verified. Some people believe they are real experts on immigration and can steer you wrong.
You can also hire an immigration attorney or immigration consultant to do your application for you. This can be expensive but if the paperwork is that confusing for you or if you are really busy it can be helpful. Some people hire an attorney just to review their application before it is sent in to the government.
This is by no means a complete guide, but just a few things to get you started.
Monday, February 25, 2008
Litter in Toronto
Toronto had a reputation for a long time as a very clean city. Before I lived in Toronto, I went there for my honeymoon in April, 1998. It was indeed very clean. When I moved there in 2003, it seemed so much dirtier. People throw litter on the street all the time. One time I was riding on the street car and at almost every stop, someone was smoking and threw the cigarette on the ground before boarding.
I've noticed that Toronto still enjoys this pristine and clean reputation outside of the area. When we were living in Toronto and visited upstate NY, people would comment about how it must be nice to live in such a clean city. We were sorry to have to tell them that it was no longer true.
Toronto is a wonderful city and there are a lot of reasons to visit or live there, but a litter-free wonderland it is not.
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Queen St. West, East of Bathurst [2007]
This is where the fire was. If you click on the photo, you'll go to a page where you can see it in a large size.
Luckily no one was hurt in the fire.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
6th Alarm, 625 Queen St. W., Toronto
Immediately after the collapse of the structure at 625 Queen St. W. housing Dukes Cycle. Suspect Video was also destroyed in the blaze. (that's the name of a video store, not video of a suspect)
Massive fire on Queen St West (at Portland)
For any TTC riders, it looks like streetcars are being diverted onto King Street at Shaw.
Uploaded by Pema
Monday, February 18, 2008
Tea and sympathy
Taken at the Red Room, Spadina St., Toronto. T
It doesn't look like tea in that glass to me!
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Friday, February 15, 2008
RATS
Picture taken by Vivian Hui on February 15, 2008 in front of
Dumpling House
328 Spadina Avenue
Toronto, ON M5T 2E7
Those are rats on the table where there's usually a person making dumplings.
Click on the photo to see it larger, there's really rats in there. Eek!
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Food truck by the Skating Rink
on Queen Street.
They claim to have been there over 30 years. I wonder if they are still using the same grease.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Bike courier in snow
courier in snow, originally uploaded by alfred ng.
Biking through the snow, you have to be dedicated!
Monday, February 11, 2008
Toronto Geocoin
For more information and to get your own Toronto coin, visit the following web page:
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Saturday, February 09, 2008
Friday, February 08, 2008
Thursday, February 07, 2008
Wednesday, February 06, 2008
3rd Winter Storm in February ( Feb.6, 2008)
Toronto Transit bus trying to make thru the traffic during the snow storm.
Tuesday, February 05, 2008
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