Mike and Jessica

[Scottish_Rob]

BIG congrats mate...Finally things are falling into place for you....:icon_biggrin:

[Voiceroveip]

Congratulations Mike, and celebrate your divorce anniversary, I do ^_^

[Paul Todd]

Mike,

Every time I read this thread it just keeps getting better!:icon_cheesygrin: It sounds like all the things that where holding you back have all disappeared! You must be doing something right my friend. I'm looking forward to reading all about your wedding already:icon_cheesygrin:
All the best to you and Jessica

Ming Zhi,Paul

[mustfocus]

October 21, 2009

Guys I have some official news !!!!

First of all, I opened the mail and received the "attorney-certified, time-stamped copy of the Judgement of Divorce that was entered into the County Clerk's Office on October 9, 2009."

I am not making these words up, this is what it says on the cover letter!!!

ABOUT TIME !!!!!! since I heard the Judge declare this decision, in the court room, back in MAY !!!! Which is why I planned a trip to China in August/September thinking the paperwork can't be delayed longer then that !!!! Boy was I wrong !!!

Second of all, I received, and signed, and returned the papers for my job offer. So I am to start work, on November 2, in Toronto CA.
Now I just have to find a place to live !!!! and get my TN Visa.
and be ready to work, there in 10 days!

I talked to Jessica this morning, on QQ, and it was 6 AM for me, and 7 PM for her, and she was at work.... she more fully explained to me her work tasks, and schedule, she told me she works until 11 PM each day, I now have a much better understanding of her life situation, and nothing is a question mark any longer. I really want to get things moving now, and get things arranged to move her from there, and to live with me.

so for now, I need to get a temporary place to live, in Toronto, get the new job going, and look for a better place to live, and move into it, in the next 3 months. And also plan my next trip to China, which will include a wedding. I now see no reason to delay this more, with another trip that does not include a wedding.

Mike O.

Congrats on the job and the love of your life!  Any idea where in Toronto you would like to live in?  We've got a semi confusing place here with many neighbourhoods having two or more names so if you have an idea of what kind of area you'd like to live in, I can recommend something.

[Martin]

Mike...does this mean you will join Chong and I for dumplings?  In-Jaul...you might want to join us as well.  The more company at table 10, the better.

Mike...Union Station is downtown, and not far from Chinatown.  How familiar are you with Toronto?

[Martin]

I don't live in Toronto, but you don't need to live downtown to work there.  Toronto has a great transit system.  You can live far out of the city, and still get downtown easily.  For example, you could live in Pickering or anywhere on the east side, and take the GO Train downtown.  It goes right to Union Station.

You could also look at Markham.  It is in Toronto.  Chong can tell you about the transit to Union.  It is a little pricier in this area, but a very large Chinese community, and very nice area.

And Dumplings are on me when we all meet up...kind of a welcome to Canada thing.

[Irishman]

Fantastic news Mike, it all seems to be coming together for you now.
Oh and regarding which date to celebrate the divorce, well that's easy, March 17th of course!, she may have done it for maximum impact knowing your heritage, but it led you to here and you current happy state of mind and that should be celebrated (we Irish are good at celebrations!)
I'm a firm believer that every cloud has a silver lining if you look for it

[mustfocus]

[/quote]

In-Jaul,

Thanks! for now I am trying to arrange for temp housing, month to month, to buy time for a few reasons ...

1) I cannot exit my current lease until Jan
2) I need time to decide where I will live, and move to.

I need to travel back to the US to visit family on a regular basis, so I want to live either in the city, or west of the city to reduce travel time for those trips....

After my job interview at the company I was driving back, and I got on the highway, and noticed a sign for "China Town", and I remember thinking... hey I can live near there... it will give me more opportunities to learn/practice Mandarin Speaking.

Another idea I had was about Chinese Language Church... I have been attending a Chinese Christian Church every other weekend for the last 4 months where I live now. The church services are all held in Mandarin, and I have enjoyed this. The people are all like good friends to me now also. So I had to idea to seek out a church like this in Toronto also.

looking forward, Jessica is to live with me there .... it would be good for her to have access to bus/train line, and a Chinese speaking community. On my trip to China she asked me a lot of questions about this, for where I live now. She is very independent, but wants to arrange the best situation.

Another reason for me to have temp housing, so I can explore other places to live, before I move all my junk.

What I want is
1) on the west side
2) on the bus/train line, I can walk to work from Union Station
3) has access to Chinese Culture, and people

I am not worried about schools for kids, or being in a certain class of neighborhood for my children, as they will only visit me there for short trips in the summer, or holiday weekends,

We can move this to PM if you want to get more detailed.... :icon_biggrin:

Mike O.
[/quote]

Hi Mike,

There is a Chinatown near Union Station.  I haven't been there in quite a while as I live in the northern part of the city, but it's about three blocks north of the stadium (Rogers Centre / Skydome) which is pretty much right beside Union Station.  There are also quite a few condo developments in the area.  Walking to Chinatown is a 10/15 minute stroll (good exercise after dinner  Right near the highway and easy access to the lake.  Can't help you with a Chinese church, but I'm sure there is one in Chinatown.

One word of advice though, The majority of the chinese that lived in that Chinatown were cantonese speaking chinese.  Again, I haven't been to that Chinatown in a while as I live much closer to "Chinatown North".  That said, up here, I find I am hearing more mainland mandarin and it is always growing.

I've never tried going from downtown to the airport (again, living up near the northern border), but it shouldn't be hard...most likely just Gardiner Expressway to Highway 400 and a short trip on the 401.

Finally (I'm doing this on my lunch break so please excuse the lack of detail).  If you decide you want to live in the northern part of the city, plan a travel time of approximately 90 minutes to get to Union Station each way by public transit.

When I get home tonight, I'll see if I can come up with a better explanation for you and help you pinpoint something you might like.

Mike...does this mean you will join Chong and I for dumplings?  In-Jaul...you might want to join us as well.  The more company at table 10, the better.

Mike...Union Station is downtown, and not far from Chinatown.  How familiar are you with Toronto?

I'm game.  I just don't want to become a 3rd wheel for you guys.

[Irishman]

Hmm, we might just have to start an annual Canadian Table 10 convention for the brotherhood at this rate!
I'll attend in 2015 when she gets her Irish Citizenship and can visit Canada with me!

[mustfocus]

I'm game.  I just don't want to become a 3rd wheel for you guys.

In-Jaul

As far as I know ... you are very welcome to join us, I have never met Martin, or Chong in person, but am certainly looking forward to it.

Mike O.

Hey Mike,

Let us know when you get here and we'll definitely do something!


In-Jaul
Ok, after giving this a bit more thought, let me break down Toronto's chinese areas and then maybe we can help you focus on proceeding...

In Toronto, there are 4 major areas with large concentrations of chinese people.  Downtown near where you will work, Another one further east of that original chinatown, a small one in Mississauga (city just to the west of Toronto and actually the host for Pearson International Airport) and what a lot of people call Chinatown North (where I live).  The one downtown and the one east of there (Broadview and Gerrard if you want to look at a map) are the two oldest ones.  Out of those two, your best bet would be the one closer to your future job.  There are several condos going up in that area.  Yes, parking is horrendous.  But if you get a condo there, you're within walking distance of Chinatown as well as public transportation and lots of entertainment.  The one at Broadview and Gerrard is much smaller and to be honest, very run down.  There are some nice houses close to that area (called "the Beach") but I don't think you'll find a chinese church in that area.  I haven't been to the Mississauga chinatown in over a decade, but I have driven past it and it's really just a big round plaza.

Chinatown North is really a misnomer that we use here.  There are really two large blocks of chinese population here.  One is at Highway 7 and Leslie.  There is one mall and several plazas along the highway within a 3 kilometers (more or less) stretch.  Great for restaurants and some light shopping, but IMO, not a living area.  The second block stretches from Warden Avenue and Steeles Ave. East all the way to Markham Road and Steeles....maybe 10 kilometers total and going north on Kennedy from Steeles all the way up to Highway 7.  This is the home to Pacific Mall (one of the biggest chinese malls in North America) as well as several other malls and chinese supermarkets (LOTS of them).  There are many chinese churches here of various denominations (pentecostal, anglican, catholic, etc.).  On the assumption you are to stay in the southern area (near Pacific Mall) so you can access the TTC (public transit), the catch is that you're looking at approximately 90 in travel time each way.  Chinatown North is probably the most modern out of the four, but is also the most spread out.  For me, I can get to the airport within 20mins to a half hour if the traffic is decent and I'm not beside the highway.

In terms of culture (other than visiting a mall), we have four radio stations which provide chinese programming part time.  The catch is that most of the time it's in cantonese.  On the boobtube, we have two canadian chinese stations (Fairchild and Talentvision), but only available on cable.  They offer a mix of both mardarin and cantonese programming.  If you have Rogers as your TV provider, there is also a package of stations from China (roughly 15 channels) that are rebroadcast here that you can purchase.  Not that you want to spend all day in front of a TV, but something like that would definitely help Jessica feel more at home.

Since I have only been on here for a short time, I don't really know your preferences, but I can tell you my preference is in my area near Pacific Mall.  Yes, the travel time might be an issue, however, I find for the amenities, it's better than being downtown (in my case).

If you want to focus on an area, let me know and I'll see what I can dig up for you.

[Arnold]

I don't know how I missed all this over the last few day's Mike ? Well , you might have an Idea .

Congrat's Man , you are one of a few good Men , that turned a disaster into a wedding soon . You are surely guided by the Lord .

Good luck on your new Job and the Move to What was that ... south of the Border or north ?

A salute to Mike and Jessica .

[Martin]

mustfocus Wrote:  I'm game. I just don't want to become a 3rd wheel for you guys.


In-Jaul

In-Jaul...ours is not an exclusive group.  Chong and I met in this group...when we were over on facebook, and decided to get together for lunch.

Since you know the Markham area, Table 10 is located at a restaurant there..a dumpling restaurant. (That's a surprise, eh?)

You are part of this brotherhood as well, and would not be a 3rd wheel.  You are just as welcome.

Mike...it sounds like In-Jaul has you in good hands to help you with the city.  I live a few hours out...so if you are interested in looking for a cottage, I can better help you in that department.

[Martin]

Scott...what are you going on about?  Mike is talking about moving to Canada...this requires taking off rose coloured glasses...or the fact that Arnold sent his congratulations?  It's not like Mike has not been over to China and been with his Jessica.

And since I am the one putting you in your place, I must be the one in fantasy land.

[mustfocus]

mustfocus Wrote:  I'm game. I just don't want to become a 3rd wheel for you guys.


In-Jaul

In-Jaul...ours is not an exclusive group.  Chong and I met in this group...when we were over on facebook, and decided to get together for lunch.

Since you know the Markham area, Table 10 is located at a restaurant there..a dumpling restaurant. (That's a surprise, eh?)

You are part of this brotherhood as well, and would not be a 3rd wheel.  You are just as welcome.

Mike...it sounds like In-Jaul has you in good hands to help you with the city.  I live a few hours out...so if you are interested in looking for a cottage, I can better help you in that department.

You'll have to tell me which restaurant as there are so many.  I'm quite familiar with the area but I can't think of a restaurant that currently specializes in dumplings (then again, as of this moment, my mind is just trying to calm down from the insane weather we're having tonight).  I can think of a dumpling stall over in First Markham.  A few others as well, but those went out of business.

Ah well.  I'll wait for you guys to stop by and we'll see.

[Chong]

You'll have to tell me which restaurant as there are so many.

"The Chinese Dumplings Restaurant" at the NW corner of Finch & Midland. Please join us, the more the merrier.

I live at Warden & Hwy 7.

Personally, I would stay away from the Pacific Mall area. Especially now that they're planning ANOTHER huge mall to rival Pacific Mall and the OTHER one across the street. Car traffic on a weekend is horrendous. However, if you live & walk close to the mall, then it's fine ... but then you have to deal with the human traffic. Hah, it sounds like China.

Scott ... When you had your trip thread, many guys gave you lots of "pats on the back" & "well wishes". I'm sure that you appreciated it. This is, after all, a support group ... in good times and in bad times. To bring a negative posting into Mike's current thread ( and he's your best man possibly in the future ) ain't cool.