After I announced last December that I would be moving to Calgary in January, the number one reaction was "You're moving to Canada in January?!" And my answer was always a variation of the same. Really, the weather there isn't that different from Wisconsin, winter just lasts longer. Blah, blah, blah. Well, it is nearly April and I can attest that it feels like winter is never going to end. My only consolation is that the weather in Madison has been about the same the last week.
I got sick of giving the same answer, so I started saying "Winter is the best time to move to Calgary. I get to ski and enjoy other winter activities." Nearly 3 months in, we finally went skiing. Sad. But between traveling for work, busy weekends, and poor weather, we couldn't really get out before now.
We lucked out with the most amazing ski day for our first trip out for the season. We left Calgary at 7:30 AM and it was foggy with a snow/rain mix. I started to wonder if we made the best choice. But half way there, the fog cleared and the roads dried up. By the time we got to Sunshine Village, the sun was shining and the temps were rising. We couldn't stop saying what a beautiful day it turned out to be.
Pics to follow!
Monday, March 28, 2011
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Dim sum...for breakfast?
Yes, you read that right.
A couple weeks ago, RTC's dad suggested that we go to church and then head over for dim sum at the Silver Dragon. We thought this sounded like a great idea. Then he said we would be going to 8 AM service and I got confused. RTC and I were convinced that dim sum would not be available at 9 AM. We were wrong. On Sundays, the Silver Dragon opens at 9 AM. We were the first people in the door, but by the time we left, it was packed. And I know why. It was delicious. I'll take dim sum for breakfast any day.
I often complained that Madison did not have a good Chinese restaurant. Calgary actually has a pretty large Chinatown, so I am looking forward to exploring that. At least I know where to go for dim sum!
A couple weeks ago, RTC's dad suggested that we go to church and then head over for dim sum at the Silver Dragon. We thought this sounded like a great idea. Then he said we would be going to 8 AM service and I got confused. RTC and I were convinced that dim sum would not be available at 9 AM. We were wrong. On Sundays, the Silver Dragon opens at 9 AM. We were the first people in the door, but by the time we left, it was packed. And I know why. It was delicious. I'll take dim sum for breakfast any day.
I often complained that Madison did not have a good Chinese restaurant. Calgary actually has a pretty large Chinatown, so I am looking forward to exploring that. At least I know where to go for dim sum!
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Great Saturday
This week the weather has been up and down. A couple days of warmer weather and then a very frigid Friday. RTC and I decided to check out the Glenbow Museum, and given our distrust of accurate Calgary weather forecasts, we bundled up for the 20 minute walk. Fortunately, the forecast was right and halfway there we were discarding our toques (hats) and mittens.
We discussed whether or not we should get a membership since the price of one visit is more than a third the cost of an annual membership. We found out we could pay for our visit today and then apply the price to the membership before we left today if we liked it. We visited the permanent collections on Calgary and regional history, and then two of the special exhibits, 77 Million Painting by Brian Eno and Perceptions of Promise: Biotechnology, Society, and Art. I really loved the Brian Eno exhibit, and had been wanting to see it for about a month.
I decided that I would really enjoy coming back, so we went with the membership. It also offers reciprocal membership to other Canadian museums, including the ROM, which we only saw part of last September.
We enjoyed a nice walk home, with a stop at Burger Inn for lunch. The burger and fries were delicious, but I found the milk shake lacking. This is mostly because I prefer malts, but RTC informed me that I would not find a malt in Calgary, and if I did, it would only be because they imported the malt powder from Wisconsin. We finished our lunch and set off for home, passing Le Chien Chaud on the way. This is a great place for hot dogs, but a sign out front told us they now have malts! After ordering, I told the owner my lament at not being able to find a malt in Calgary, and she said that yes, it is hard, and that they have to import their malt powder from Wisconsin! I am not making this up. I told her that is where I am from and we all had a good laugh about it. The malt was fantastic. A great Saturday!
We discussed whether or not we should get a membership since the price of one visit is more than a third the cost of an annual membership. We found out we could pay for our visit today and then apply the price to the membership before we left today if we liked it. We visited the permanent collections on Calgary and regional history, and then two of the special exhibits, 77 Million Painting by Brian Eno and Perceptions of Promise: Biotechnology, Society, and Art. I really loved the Brian Eno exhibit, and had been wanting to see it for about a month.
I decided that I would really enjoy coming back, so we went with the membership. It also offers reciprocal membership to other Canadian museums, including the ROM, which we only saw part of last September.
We enjoyed a nice walk home, with a stop at Burger Inn for lunch. The burger and fries were delicious, but I found the milk shake lacking. This is mostly because I prefer malts, but RTC informed me that I would not find a malt in Calgary, and if I did, it would only be because they imported the malt powder from Wisconsin. We finished our lunch and set off for home, passing Le Chien Chaud on the way. This is a great place for hot dogs, but a sign out front told us they now have malts! After ordering, I told the owner my lament at not being able to find a malt in Calgary, and she said that yes, it is hard, and that they have to import their malt powder from Wisconsin! I am not making this up. I told her that is where I am from and we all had a good laugh about it. The malt was fantastic. A great Saturday!
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
What do you do?
I get this question a lot. Understandably. I think I am better at describing what I do now than at my last job, but probably still not great.
The Vancouver Sun recently did a series on one of the projects I work on. Here is a link to the first article. This project is underway in five Canadian cities, but the story focuses on the Vancouver site.
I work on the behind the scenes stuff--for my PH friends, the quantitative aspects of the project. But it is great to have stories like this to make the work I do seem more real.
The Vancouver Sun recently did a series on one of the projects I work on. Here is a link to the first article. This project is underway in five Canadian cities, but the story focuses on the Vancouver site.
I work on the behind the scenes stuff--for my PH friends, the quantitative aspects of the project. But it is great to have stories like this to make the work I do seem more real.
Monday, February 21, 2011
Family Day
Today is Family Day in Alberta, which means I have the day off from work--or at least I don't have to be in the office. I have been traveling quite a bit for work this past month and will be the next two weeks as well, which means that my days in the office have been limited. To catch up a bit, I will be doing some work this afternoon, but I did get to have a massage this morning, so all in all, not a bad "work" day.
I've received several questions about Calgary from my US friends and family. First of all, where is it? Imagine yourself in Western Montana, and then head a few hours north and you'll land in Calgary. Being that I'm not a native and I've only been here for 7 weeks, I'll leave it to wikipedia to provide a summary. Some of you may recall that the 1988 Winter Olympics were held in Calgary. Last week I visited Olympic Plaza, which was the location of the medal ceremonies. Yesterday was the Heritage Classic, an outdoor hockey game between the Calgary Flames and the Montreal Canadiens. I did not attend, but RTC and his dad braved the extreme cold and watched the Flames beat the Canadiens 4-0. This event was held at McMahon Stadium, also the site of the opening and closing ceremonies for the Olympics. And here's a fun fact: RTC was part of the yellow ring during the opening ceremonies. His dad told me there are pictures of this, which I am very much looking forward to seeing. Here's a link to the opening ceremony highlights. You'll witness the aforementioned human colored rings and blow up dinosaurs...my, how Olympic opening ceremonies (and television!) have changed!
In honor of the Heritage Classic, the flame on the Calgary Tower was lit, which we can see from our living room window.
I've received several questions about Calgary from my US friends and family. First of all, where is it? Imagine yourself in Western Montana, and then head a few hours north and you'll land in Calgary. Being that I'm not a native and I've only been here for 7 weeks, I'll leave it to wikipedia to provide a summary. Some of you may recall that the 1988 Winter Olympics were held in Calgary. Last week I visited Olympic Plaza, which was the location of the medal ceremonies. Yesterday was the Heritage Classic, an outdoor hockey game between the Calgary Flames and the Montreal Canadiens. I did not attend, but RTC and his dad braved the extreme cold and watched the Flames beat the Canadiens 4-0. This event was held at McMahon Stadium, also the site of the opening and closing ceremonies for the Olympics. And here's a fun fact: RTC was part of the yellow ring during the opening ceremonies. His dad told me there are pictures of this, which I am very much looking forward to seeing. Here's a link to the opening ceremony highlights. You'll witness the aforementioned human colored rings and blow up dinosaurs...my, how Olympic opening ceremonies (and television!) have changed!
In honor of the Heritage Classic, the flame on the Calgary Tower was lit, which we can see from our living room window.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Where have you been?
I know, I know. I started the blog and the posts were steady and then...nothing. For almost two weeks. Sorry folks, life got a bit busy.
Last week I was in Montreal for work. This was my first trip to Montreal, and I enjoyed it. I didn't get to see that much because most of my time was taken up with work meetings, but I did enjoy a delicious dinner at Restaurant La Raclette on my birthday with my new work colleagues. It was a four course meal and for my main course I tried la raclette. This involves a contraption that reminded me of an Easy Bake Oven, and a small square pan that is filled with cheese and then slid into the oven. Once the cheese is melted, it is eaten with potatoes or cured meats. Incredibly rich, and I was provided with a ridiculous amount of cheese. It was yummy, though, and fun to try something different.
I am happy to report that I have found one yoga studio that I really like, Hot Yoga on 17th. RTC's sister K and I have gone several times and all the classes have been great. The downside is that it is farther away than I'd like, so it will probably be the studio of choice on the weekends. I will continue to look for something closer to the apartment or to my office so that I can fit in a couple more classes during the week.
We are slowly accumulating more items for the apartment, but mostly small stuff. I purchased a cheese grater over the weekend. Exciting stuff. However, the biggest purchase thus far has been a new bed! The first month in the apartment we slept on a full sized bed. This became uncomfortable the second night. Our original plan was to purchase a new mattress in the US and bring it with us when we move the rest of my belongings, but fortunately we found a good deal here. Fortunate because RTC was considering wearing protective gear to bed since I kept hitting him in the middle of the night (not on purpose, I promise!). So here it is, with its first satisfied customer!
Last week I was in Montreal for work. This was my first trip to Montreal, and I enjoyed it. I didn't get to see that much because most of my time was taken up with work meetings, but I did enjoy a delicious dinner at Restaurant La Raclette on my birthday with my new work colleagues. It was a four course meal and for my main course I tried la raclette. This involves a contraption that reminded me of an Easy Bake Oven, and a small square pan that is filled with cheese and then slid into the oven. Once the cheese is melted, it is eaten with potatoes or cured meats. Incredibly rich, and I was provided with a ridiculous amount of cheese. It was yummy, though, and fun to try something different.
I am happy to report that I have found one yoga studio that I really like, Hot Yoga on 17th. RTC's sister K and I have gone several times and all the classes have been great. The downside is that it is farther away than I'd like, so it will probably be the studio of choice on the weekends. I will continue to look for something closer to the apartment or to my office so that I can fit in a couple more classes during the week.
We are slowly accumulating more items for the apartment, but mostly small stuff. I purchased a cheese grater over the weekend. Exciting stuff. However, the biggest purchase thus far has been a new bed! The first month in the apartment we slept on a full sized bed. This became uncomfortable the second night. Our original plan was to purchase a new mattress in the US and bring it with us when we move the rest of my belongings, but fortunately we found a good deal here. Fortunate because RTC was considering wearing protective gear to bed since I kept hitting him in the middle of the night (not on purpose, I promise!). So here it is, with its first satisfied customer!
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Part of making a new city home is discovering the qualities and services that make it unique. Today I discovered Avenue Magazine, which is helping on that front. The most interesting article I read so far is about a breadmaker who delivers break via bike and has regular offerings at stores around town. I am hoping to order in the the coming weeks for delivery. I'll provide an update once we've tasted the loaves.
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