Randoms
Hey Everyone,
Well I have a bank account it cost me 75 canadian to set up but it was totally worth it because after I visited at least 6 different banks and each was kind enough to tell me I couldn't get an account. It seems that if you don't have an address that has three months of bills being sent to it in your name you can't get a bank account. How in the world can anyone start out in this country it is beyond me. The next challenge has been setting up broadband in our home. Super easy in canada you just put in a call to your broadband provider and bam there you go. Within a week you are good to go. Not in this country hell no. You have to set up a phone line two weeks. Then you have sign a 12 month contract that if you break you have to buy it out no matter what. There is no way to opt out of the contract how budge is that. Well something funny is going on with our phone line because it will be another week until we have a phone line but here is the kicker you can't even get broadband all set up without a phone. So its going to be another two weeks before we have the internet at home.
So how do I work you must be wondering? Well I get up in the morning and type out the emails that I want to send at home then I walk over to the internet cafe and plug my laptop in and send emails update my codebase and download anything that I think I might need for the day. Thankfully work is 8 hours behind me so I can work in a cone of silence without worrying that the stuff that I'm working on is being fixed or updated by someone in canada.
I bought my ticket to India today. Yikes I'm actually going so thats kinda crazy. It cost me 455 pounds, quick someone do the conversion to canadian because I'm at home without internet (no free wireless around here). I'll be leaving on October 31 and I will arrive in New Delhi at 11:30pm. Yikes that should be crazy arriving that late in the night and trying to find my buddy Rob. I will be coming back on February 8th one day before my birthday. While I come back to London by buddy Rob is off to Thailand for some more adventures. Well I haven't spoken to Rob in almost a month because he is in on his fishing boat doing that fishing thang so I am not sure if he has bought his ticket or not yet. This worries Sonja a lot because she's scared that I will be in India by myself but I keep telling her that Robbie Haines will buy the ticket and will be with me in New Delhi on October 31 no matter what. How is that for faith in a friend.
Well how much do they need IT people in this country you maybe thinking. Well I have a job but I have posted my resume online a while back and it has been really strange what has happened. People have randomly called me and asked if I want to interview for different positions. One position that I was actually interested in was becoming a technical auditor which I not exactly sure what that is but it sounds like it could pay really well. I was contacted today while I was in the travel agency by a fellow who wants me to interview for a team lead for a development team in Surrey, which they tell me is only half an hour by train outside of London. He was really pushy so when they asked how much I was expecting I said mid 30's which he seemed would not be a problem. I also threw in I would like to have benefits as well. He said that he was forwarding my resume onto the company so who knows maybe I'll go and get some interview experience. It must be noted that I would not take the job because I'm going to India for three months. Even though Sonja keeps telling me that its a lot of money in Canadian dollars and I would be crazy to walk away from it. I have to keep telling her that life is not all about money its about experiences, which she tells me to shut up and then I tell her the truth that if this type of job is there now it will be there when I get back from India.
Well we went to Brick Lane the other day for dinner. For those that haven't been to Brick Lane (almost everyone I know hasn't) its a street thats full of Indian restaurants. Every restaurant has a person on the street trying to get you to come to there restaurant so they are trying to give you the best deal to come to their place. Its totally fun bargaining with these people for a place to eat. "You throw in beer for everyone and 25% off and we'll look at the menu" is the line I like to use. The food was totally amazing and I'm totally cheap. For Sonja and I it only cost 10 pounds each, which isn't bad considering the last dinner Sonja and I went out for was 20 pounds each and it didn't consist of beer.
Sonja and our roomate Tanya, Sonja's best friend, have got a pass to the local gym so thats where they are tonight. Trying to get buff, sadly they will never be as big as my massive runner body.
We had a bunch of randoms over to our house on Saturday night for a new friends birthday party. We drank, Sonja and I fed them and then we headed out. It was a good night, heck it was a great night I have tons of pictures of random people. Here is a lesson I should learn, never bring the camera to the bar it only causes trouble.
Ok that is way to long of a blog so I'm out.
Well I have a bank account it cost me 75 canadian to set up but it was totally worth it because after I visited at least 6 different banks and each was kind enough to tell me I couldn't get an account. It seems that if you don't have an address that has three months of bills being sent to it in your name you can't get a bank account. How in the world can anyone start out in this country it is beyond me. The next challenge has been setting up broadband in our home. Super easy in canada you just put in a call to your broadband provider and bam there you go. Within a week you are good to go. Not in this country hell no. You have to set up a phone line two weeks. Then you have sign a 12 month contract that if you break you have to buy it out no matter what. There is no way to opt out of the contract how budge is that. Well something funny is going on with our phone line because it will be another week until we have a phone line but here is the kicker you can't even get broadband all set up without a phone. So its going to be another two weeks before we have the internet at home.
So how do I work you must be wondering? Well I get up in the morning and type out the emails that I want to send at home then I walk over to the internet cafe and plug my laptop in and send emails update my codebase and download anything that I think I might need for the day. Thankfully work is 8 hours behind me so I can work in a cone of silence without worrying that the stuff that I'm working on is being fixed or updated by someone in canada.
I bought my ticket to India today. Yikes I'm actually going so thats kinda crazy. It cost me 455 pounds, quick someone do the conversion to canadian because I'm at home without internet (no free wireless around here). I'll be leaving on October 31 and I will arrive in New Delhi at 11:30pm. Yikes that should be crazy arriving that late in the night and trying to find my buddy Rob. I will be coming back on February 8th one day before my birthday. While I come back to London by buddy Rob is off to Thailand for some more adventures. Well I haven't spoken to Rob in almost a month because he is in on his fishing boat doing that fishing thang so I am not sure if he has bought his ticket or not yet. This worries Sonja a lot because she's scared that I will be in India by myself but I keep telling her that Robbie Haines will buy the ticket and will be with me in New Delhi on October 31 no matter what. How is that for faith in a friend.
Well how much do they need IT people in this country you maybe thinking. Well I have a job but I have posted my resume online a while back and it has been really strange what has happened. People have randomly called me and asked if I want to interview for different positions. One position that I was actually interested in was becoming a technical auditor which I not exactly sure what that is but it sounds like it could pay really well. I was contacted today while I was in the travel agency by a fellow who wants me to interview for a team lead for a development team in Surrey, which they tell me is only half an hour by train outside of London. He was really pushy so when they asked how much I was expecting I said mid 30's which he seemed would not be a problem. I also threw in I would like to have benefits as well. He said that he was forwarding my resume onto the company so who knows maybe I'll go and get some interview experience. It must be noted that I would not take the job because I'm going to India for three months. Even though Sonja keeps telling me that its a lot of money in Canadian dollars and I would be crazy to walk away from it. I have to keep telling her that life is not all about money its about experiences, which she tells me to shut up and then I tell her the truth that if this type of job is there now it will be there when I get back from India.
Well we went to Brick Lane the other day for dinner. For those that haven't been to Brick Lane (almost everyone I know hasn't) its a street thats full of Indian restaurants. Every restaurant has a person on the street trying to get you to come to there restaurant so they are trying to give you the best deal to come to their place. Its totally fun bargaining with these people for a place to eat. "You throw in beer for everyone and 25% off and we'll look at the menu" is the line I like to use. The food was totally amazing and I'm totally cheap. For Sonja and I it only cost 10 pounds each, which isn't bad considering the last dinner Sonja and I went out for was 20 pounds each and it didn't consist of beer.
Sonja and our roomate Tanya, Sonja's best friend, have got a pass to the local gym so thats where they are tonight. Trying to get buff, sadly they will never be as big as my massive runner body.
We had a bunch of randoms over to our house on Saturday night for a new friends birthday party. We drank, Sonja and I fed them and then we headed out. It was a good night, heck it was a great night I have tons of pictures of random people. Here is a lesson I should learn, never bring the camera to the bar it only causes trouble.
Ok that is way to long of a blog so I'm out.
posted by Glenn Saqui at 12:17 AM
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