I noted in my "Signs of being Canadianized" that I've started to answer "Hello" to our phone (which doesn't have name display), like they do here, instead of answering with my name, which is what I learned as a kid. "Hello" might sound like a welcoming and friendly answer, but it often leads to frustrating moments. Like this:
Our landline phone rings.
Me: "Hello"
Caller: "Hello"
Me: "Hello?" (trying to emphasize the question mark in my intonation)
Caller: "Hello"
Me (frustrated, not sure whether it's about the line and the other person can't here me, or if it's just once again the annoying hello-hello-dance): Sorry, but who's calling?
Caller: Oh, sorry, I though you recognized my voice, it's --- (usually one of our friends or Abdallah's relatives - telemarketers are polite, they always introduce themselves). How are you?
Me: I'm good, how are you? Just a little suggestion, next time you could introduce yourself when you call!
Example 2:
Phone rings.
Me: "Hello"
Caller: "Hello"
Me: "Hello?" (trying to emphasize the question mark in my intonation)
Caller: "Hello"
Me: "Hello???" (really trying to emphasize the question marks in my intonation)
Caller: How are you?
Me: I'm good, how are you? (Trying to think who on earth the person on the other end is.)
Caller: Not too bad.
Me: Great. Sorry, but who's calling?
Caller: Oh, sorry, I though you recognized my voice, it's -----.
The last part can also go like this:
...
Me: I'm good, how are you? (Trying to think who on earth the person on the other end is.)
Caller: Not too bad, it was great to hang out with you guys last week.
Me: Oh, it's you ---- (name of our friends)! Sorry, I didn't recognize your voice! You should have introduced yourself! But yes, it was great to see you!
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Bad burgers
I always thought that North America is the continent of hamburgers. I'm afraid that I have to add one more word to the sentence - bad.
I have (once again) declared a war against burgers. Or maybe it's more like a boycott. Or both. Why? Because all the burgers I've eaten this year (usually burger craving hits once a month) have been bad, no matter if they were veggie, chicken or meat burgers. Latest bad experience was on Monday at the Toronto Airport - why did I fool myself again to the wishful thinking of a pleasant burger experience???
Traditionally you would think that pubs are good places for good burgers. This has been proven wrong, at least in Ottawa. One pub burger was such a catastrophe that I left the meat on the plate. Reason to be vegetarian for sure, but unfortunately the portobello mushroom burger in another place wasn't much better either. Pub burgers suck. Freshly reminded by Monday's airport burger experience, you shouldn't expect too much from airport burgers either. Sadly though that even the low expectations can be too high. And the fries are another reason to cry - here they tend to serve industrially cut 1 cm thick fries, which are raw from inside and when you bite it, the raw, hot potate paste explodes into your mouth and burns your palate. Sounds ridiculous, but seems like my only good-ish burger this year has been in McDonald's!
So, from now on no burgers in pubs, general restaurants or at the airports, even when the burger craving hits. McDonald's isn't really an answer either. My only hint of hope is Works - a restaurant chain that actually specializes in burgers: last year's visit was quite pleasant, so maybe I can just stick with boycotting all the other places and revoke the declaration of war... unless Works disappoints me too.
I have (once again) declared a war against burgers. Or maybe it's more like a boycott. Or both. Why? Because all the burgers I've eaten this year (usually burger craving hits once a month) have been bad, no matter if they were veggie, chicken or meat burgers. Latest bad experience was on Monday at the Toronto Airport - why did I fool myself again to the wishful thinking of a pleasant burger experience???
Traditionally you would think that pubs are good places for good burgers. This has been proven wrong, at least in Ottawa. One pub burger was such a catastrophe that I left the meat on the plate. Reason to be vegetarian for sure, but unfortunately the portobello mushroom burger in another place wasn't much better either. Pub burgers suck. Freshly reminded by Monday's airport burger experience, you shouldn't expect too much from airport burgers either. Sadly though that even the low expectations can be too high. And the fries are another reason to cry - here they tend to serve industrially cut 1 cm thick fries, which are raw from inside and when you bite it, the raw, hot potate paste explodes into your mouth and burns your palate. Sounds ridiculous, but seems like my only good-ish burger this year has been in McDonald's!
So, from now on no burgers in pubs, general restaurants or at the airports, even when the burger craving hits. McDonald's isn't really an answer either. My only hint of hope is Works - a restaurant chain that actually specializes in burgers: last year's visit was quite pleasant, so maybe I can just stick with boycotting all the other places and revoke the declaration of war... unless Works disappoints me too.
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Macgyver vs. Jack Bauer
Last week's experience in the elevator and thinking about Macgyver tricks made me think about Macgyver and the "new Macgyver" - Jack Bauer from 24. Sure, 24 is very well done, as it hooks you in no time and the addicted you craves for a new episode immediately after finishing one. Naturally technological development makes a difference too, and the speed of events in general - Macgyver's actions looks like turtle action when compared to the cheetah-like-speeding Bauer. However; Bauer's maneuvers are too harsh to my taste, since he's all about using violence, where as Macgyver had a clever and gentlemanny approach to solving problems and getting away from tricky situations. I'd rather think like Macgyver than act like Jack Bauer! (As if I would be asked to save the world often anyway.)
On another note, when googling Macgyver now I noticed how NICELY Richard Dean Anderson has aged ... I truly wish they would remake Macgyver!
On another note, when googling Macgyver now I noticed how NICELY Richard Dean Anderson has aged ... I truly wish they would remake Macgyver!
Stuck in the elevator
I've often wondered how would I react if I would get stuck in an elevator. Would I panic? Would I be calm and do some Macgyver tricks to get out? Well, I don't have to wonder anymore what I would do, now I know what I do when I get stuck. I panic, I calm down and wait for someone else to do the Macgyver tricks:
Last Tuesday, as I was on leaving from work, I realized I forgot my cellphone on my desk. I decided to go back to the office to get it. I step into the elevator and press the button for 3rd floor where my office is. The door closes, but the elevator doesn’t move anywhere. When it finally moves, it goes to basement – but the door doesn’t open. I press “open the door” and 1st floor buttons but nothing happens.
First reaction? Panic. “I don’t have my cell phone with me and I can’t call anyone – office is closing at 5 and there's not many people in any more – will I be stuck here for the whole night? What do people usually do in these kinds of situations? Should I faint? Should I throw up?”
Second reaction: Calming down and assessing the situation. “It would not be wise to hit my head, so at least I should sit before I faint, if I will faint. Maybe better not to faint. Also, if I end up being here longer, it won’t be nice to sit in the small room with the puke smell, so better not to throw up either.” After this chain of thoughts I remember seeing a couple of my colleagues in the office just before I left, and I hope they will come and rescue me if I push the alarm button.
I press the alarm button. After a while I start to buzz in several different rhythms, and keep on buzzing for quite a long time. I hear some noises from ground floor, someone is banging the door, but that doesn’t help me much. “Maybe they are tired with the current buzzing rhythm, I better change the style.”
After getting tired of buzzing myself I sit down on the floor. I hear a noise from the elevator, and I notice that below the floor buttons there’s a little door, with a tiny dim sign of a telephone on it. I open the door with hopeful curiosity … “Could the picture mean that there’s a phone in the elevator??”
“YES! There’s a phone in the elevator! And it’s ringing! I’m not alone! Someone knows I’m in the elevator!”
A friendly employee from another office talks to me in a calm voice, and tells that she knows that I’m stuck, and she’s been stuck several times as well. She asks me to try couple of tricks with the elevator (push the floor buttons, push the open the door button), which I try, but nothing happens. She asks me to follow instructions on the phone panel (call the numbers as suggested).
I thank her for her instructions and read the phone instructions. I am slightly hesitant to use the phone, because the instructions say “only in emergency cases” – “Am I in an emergency enough to use the phone? Should I be more panicky before it’s an emergency?”
I decide I am in an emergency enough, so I call the elevator people, who then tell me that they called someone to come and rescue me. “It will take about 15 minutes” they tell. I ask what time it is, and I’m surprised to hear that I’ve spent about 40 minutes in the elevator already. Time flies when you’re stuck!
I call my boss (who happened to be in her office still) to tell I’m stuck in the elevator. I call Abdallah to tell I’m stuck in the elevator.I call back the friendly employee to inform her that I’ve called around the city and I’m now waiting for the elevator people to rescue me. She assures me that she won’t leave before she knows that I’m out of the elevator.
Since the phone is an emergency phone after all, I decide not to use it in a while, especially if the elevator people try to reach me on it. “No one else knows the number anyway.”
I sit on the floor, and try to do some yoga breathing, “Maybe that will save some air in case I have to spend my whole night in the elevator”. Soon I notice that the elevator sounds a bit like a boat. “Where I would be going if I was on a boat?” Obviously I’ve also noticed how small the elevator is (although it looks actually bigger when you sit on the floor) and I think about people who end up in jail and spend years in a tiny space like the elevator. “If I was in a jail, how would I spend my days in this space?”
I stare the phone and hope that someone calls me. No one does. I read the emergency instructions again and write down some ideas on how the instructions could be improved.
After a while I call the elevator people again for updates, and they tell me it’s going to take another 15 min before anyone is there. I ask for the time, and again I’m surprised to notice how time flies – I’ve been in the elevator almost 1.5 hours by now! I call Abdallah again and discuss what we should have for dinner, if and when I finally get out of the elevator.
Suddenly I hear some noises; sounds like someone is trying to open the door!
Someone is really opening the door! Dave the Elevator Hero opens the door from the first floor at the same time when my boss bangs on the door in the basement. It almost looks like she had a magic touch and she just opened the door by talking through it to me, but Dave the Elevator Hero takes the credit after all.
So, now I know how I react if I get stuck in an elevator. Now I know that there's a phone in the elevator. And now I also know that being stuck for 1.5 hours in the elevator is great for imagination!
Last Tuesday, as I was on leaving from work, I realized I forgot my cellphone on my desk. I decided to go back to the office to get it. I step into the elevator and press the button for 3rd floor where my office is. The door closes, but the elevator doesn’t move anywhere. When it finally moves, it goes to basement – but the door doesn’t open. I press “open the door” and 1st floor buttons but nothing happens.
First reaction? Panic. “I don’t have my cell phone with me and I can’t call anyone – office is closing at 5 and there's not many people in any more – will I be stuck here for the whole night? What do people usually do in these kinds of situations? Should I faint? Should I throw up?”
Second reaction: Calming down and assessing the situation. “It would not be wise to hit my head, so at least I should sit before I faint, if I will faint. Maybe better not to faint. Also, if I end up being here longer, it won’t be nice to sit in the small room with the puke smell, so better not to throw up either.” After this chain of thoughts I remember seeing a couple of my colleagues in the office just before I left, and I hope they will come and rescue me if I push the alarm button.
I press the alarm button. After a while I start to buzz in several different rhythms, and keep on buzzing for quite a long time. I hear some noises from ground floor, someone is banging the door, but that doesn’t help me much. “Maybe they are tired with the current buzzing rhythm, I better change the style.”
After getting tired of buzzing myself I sit down on the floor. I hear a noise from the elevator, and I notice that below the floor buttons there’s a little door, with a tiny dim sign of a telephone on it. I open the door with hopeful curiosity … “Could the picture mean that there’s a phone in the elevator??”
“YES! There’s a phone in the elevator! And it’s ringing! I’m not alone! Someone knows I’m in the elevator!”
A friendly employee from another office talks to me in a calm voice, and tells that she knows that I’m stuck, and she’s been stuck several times as well. She asks me to try couple of tricks with the elevator (push the floor buttons, push the open the door button), which I try, but nothing happens. She asks me to follow instructions on the phone panel (call the numbers as suggested).
I thank her for her instructions and read the phone instructions. I am slightly hesitant to use the phone, because the instructions say “only in emergency cases” – “Am I in an emergency enough to use the phone? Should I be more panicky before it’s an emergency?”
I decide I am in an emergency enough, so I call the elevator people, who then tell me that they called someone to come and rescue me. “It will take about 15 minutes” they tell. I ask what time it is, and I’m surprised to hear that I’ve spent about 40 minutes in the elevator already. Time flies when you’re stuck!
I call my boss (who happened to be in her office still) to tell I’m stuck in the elevator. I call Abdallah to tell I’m stuck in the elevator.I call back the friendly employee to inform her that I’ve called around the city and I’m now waiting for the elevator people to rescue me. She assures me that she won’t leave before she knows that I’m out of the elevator.
Since the phone is an emergency phone after all, I decide not to use it in a while, especially if the elevator people try to reach me on it. “No one else knows the number anyway.”
I sit on the floor, and try to do some yoga breathing, “Maybe that will save some air in case I have to spend my whole night in the elevator”. Soon I notice that the elevator sounds a bit like a boat. “Where I would be going if I was on a boat?” Obviously I’ve also noticed how small the elevator is (although it looks actually bigger when you sit on the floor) and I think about people who end up in jail and spend years in a tiny space like the elevator. “If I was in a jail, how would I spend my days in this space?”
I stare the phone and hope that someone calls me. No one does. I read the emergency instructions again and write down some ideas on how the instructions could be improved.
After a while I call the elevator people again for updates, and they tell me it’s going to take another 15 min before anyone is there. I ask for the time, and again I’m surprised to notice how time flies – I’ve been in the elevator almost 1.5 hours by now! I call Abdallah again and discuss what we should have for dinner, if and when I finally get out of the elevator.
Suddenly I hear some noises; sounds like someone is trying to open the door!
Someone is really opening the door! Dave the Elevator Hero opens the door from the first floor at the same time when my boss bangs on the door in the basement. It almost looks like she had a magic touch and she just opened the door by talking through it to me, but Dave the Elevator Hero takes the credit after all.
So, now I know how I react if I get stuck in an elevator. Now I know that there's a phone in the elevator. And now I also know that being stuck for 1.5 hours in the elevator is great for imagination!
Monday, August 2, 2010
5 months and 1 week later
Hmm.. what has happened in the past 5 months? Other than me being lazy to write any posts?
Feb-March: Canada won many gold medals in the Olympics. Finland didn't. Snow melted early, and in March we had a summer-hot weekend. Followed by several colder weekends.
April-May: I visited Lebanon for the first time: 2 weeks of great, fresh, local food, wonderful people, stunning landscapes filled with cute and not-so-cute villages, 1.5 m tall roses, dry mountains, green mountains, rocky mountains and the sea. Below is a pic from my favorite spot, 8000 years old city of Biblos.
May-June: I was offered and started a new job within the same organization. Going to work is so much more fun, since I can bike to office in 10 min or walk there in 25 min, instead of sitting 30 min in a full bus.
What else is new? Oh, I have picked up (in my opinion, very) North American hobbies: I'm going to chiro once a week (after 10 years of back pain, it's finally gone!!!) and trying to do yoga once a week. Soma Yoga, which is about functional movements and strengthening spine and core muscles, and re-connecting body and mind ... whatever it is, it does feel good.
I also have a new neighbor - my dear old friend Heta has moved to Washington DC! I never made it to Moscow to visit her, but a trip to Washington is happening in a month, yay!
Life is good indeed.
Feb-March: Canada won many gold medals in the Olympics. Finland didn't. Snow melted early, and in March we had a summer-hot weekend. Followed by several colder weekends.
April-May: I visited Lebanon for the first time: 2 weeks of great, fresh, local food, wonderful people, stunning landscapes filled with cute and not-so-cute villages, 1.5 m tall roses, dry mountains, green mountains, rocky mountains and the sea. Below is a pic from my favorite spot, 8000 years old city of Biblos.
May-June: I was offered and started a new job within the same organization. Going to work is so much more fun, since I can bike to office in 10 min or walk there in 25 min, instead of sitting 30 min in a full bus.
What else is new? Oh, I have picked up (in my opinion, very) North American hobbies: I'm going to chiro once a week (after 10 years of back pain, it's finally gone!!!) and trying to do yoga once a week. Soma Yoga, which is about functional movements and strengthening spine and core muscles, and re-connecting body and mind ... whatever it is, it does feel good.
I also have a new neighbor - my dear old friend Heta has moved to Washington DC! I never made it to Moscow to visit her, but a trip to Washington is happening in a month, yay!
Life is good indeed.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Celebrating in a Canadian way
Yesterday was my official 1 year anniversary of being an immigrant in Canada. I celebrated it throughout the day, in a Canadian way.
I started my day with a (cinnamon-raisin) bagel - an essential part of a Canadian breakfast. By noon I had said dozens of time "hey how are you?" and also answered dozens of time "good" or "not too bad". For lunch I had a cheeseburger and a coke - the cornerstones of North American cuisine. I also practiced speaking Canadian, and told my colleagues that the burger was "awesome". For dinner I had a combo of pizza, beer and a hockey game. (Finland is in the Olympic finals! And so is Canada!)
Couldn't get more Canadian, eh?
I started my day with a (cinnamon-raisin) bagel - an essential part of a Canadian breakfast. By noon I had said dozens of time "hey how are you?" and also answered dozens of time "good" or "not too bad". For lunch I had a cheeseburger and a coke - the cornerstones of North American cuisine. I also practiced speaking Canadian, and told my colleagues that the burger was "awesome". For dinner I had a combo of pizza, beer and a hockey game. (Finland is in the Olympic finals! And so is Canada!)Couldn't get more Canadian, eh?
Sunday, February 7, 2010
6 days to Vancouver 2010
I hardly ever watch TV due to our snowy-picture-quality on English speaking channels (French speaking channels are clearer, but my level 1 French skills didn't make me fluent yet). However, few days ago I was watching snowy CSI and I became very emotional. Not because of the bluelight of the CSI dudes, but because of the advertisements. Basically any Canadian company, or foreign company in Canada, had an advertisement related to the Olympics.
No matter whether it was a beer, technology or clothing ad, slow motion images of Canadian athletes competing, winning, celebrating were combined with images of Canadians of all ages and colours cheering for their athlete heroes. "We were made for this" and "I believe" are some sort of official Olympic slogans, which are being repeated over and over again, all over media. Like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEFmfgXtJ08
And not just media. Clothing stores in Ottawa, 4500 km away from the Olympics, have decorated their display windows with Canada hoodies, hockey pucks, pictures of athletes.
And it works. Lately, on my way to work I've been getting slightly emotional when I see the display windows and few days ago, the ads during the CSI breaks made me sit in front of the TV with teary eyes. Earlier I had only been annoyed that most likely I won't see live ski jumping (it's not a big deal here, I wonder why) but this week it hit me, that it's probably the only Olympics Canada will be hosting in my life time, so I better enjoy it!
So, 6 days from today, I'll be glued to Olympics and learn who are the Canadian heroes. Another, as important mission is to hope that Janne Ahonen would finally win gold in Olympics - no matter if I can see it on TV or not.
No matter whether it was a beer, technology or clothing ad, slow motion images of Canadian athletes competing, winning, celebrating were combined with images of Canadians of all ages and colours cheering for their athlete heroes. "We were made for this" and "I believe" are some sort of official Olympic slogans, which are being repeated over and over again, all over media. Like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEFmfgXtJ08
And not just media. Clothing stores in Ottawa, 4500 km away from the Olympics, have decorated their display windows with Canada hoodies, hockey pucks, pictures of athletes.
And it works. Lately, on my way to work I've been getting slightly emotional when I see the display windows and few days ago, the ads during the CSI breaks made me sit in front of the TV with teary eyes. Earlier I had only been annoyed that most likely I won't see live ski jumping (it's not a big deal here, I wonder why) but this week it hit me, that it's probably the only Olympics Canada will be hosting in my life time, so I better enjoy it!
So, 6 days from today, I'll be glued to Olympics and learn who are the Canadian heroes. Another, as important mission is to hope that Janne Ahonen would finally win gold in Olympics - no matter if I can see it on TV or not.
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