ForumTitleContentMemberSexCountryDate/Time
CanadaSarcasm
QUOTE (thetreble @ Aug 6 2008, 12:01 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
QUOTE (Emancipation @ Aug 6 2008, 11:13 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
QUOTE (thetreble @ Aug 6 2008, 10:04 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
The US has...the colbert report.

Which has a lot of CDN writers writing for it whistling.gif


Yep! Hence the big story line with the Oshawa Generals last year laughing.gif Which was great!


The OHL coverage came from the Saginaw Spirit naming their Eagle mascot "Steven Cobeagle the Eagle," or something like that. I was dying every time Colbert would call Coach Mancini and act like he had any clue about hockey. One time Mancini said something about the Pyatt line, naming all three players by last name, and Colbert was like "how would you even stop that guy?", to which Mancini gently informed him that it was actually three players, not one guy with three names.

Good (and free) coverage for the OHL. But the WHL is still the best wink.gif

Through my travels across the US and Canada, I found that the folks from the Eastern US had a more biting type of humor that was more at the expense of others, rather then most other place's sarcastic self deprecating humor. I know when I played hockey the guys from New England were always the ones hammering on other guys in the locker room, and it wasn't in as much fun as everyone else. Especially those guys from Boston.

During my time in Canada, I've really come to enoy Corner Gas, which probably has most of you rolling your eyes. I'm a huge Daily Show and Cobert Report fan, so I've really enjoyed "This Hour has 22 Minutes" too. But is there a Canadian version of "The Onion?"

For us sarcasm fans, this month will only get better...Democratic and Republican National Conventions usually serve up tons of soundbites and bizarre stories (remember this?
Eric_and_CorinnaMaleCanada2008-08-07 15:22:00
CanadaMy Montreal Review
Congrats Laura!! That's so awesome! But...I didn't know you worked at Lowes! I love that place-I honestly go there every day and just wander around looking at tools, even on days when I'm not working on my house smile.gif
Eric_and_CorinnaMaleCanada2008-06-21 20:30:00
CanadaU.S. employment wages
QUOTE (Loco179 @ Aug 15 2008, 08:18 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Ya location location location. VA average for a firefighter is freaking high. I know guys making 90k for my rank.

It was cheaper. My insurance from work is everything covered style so its awesome. No waits for anything because they love my insurance.


Our step 1 FF/PMs make about $50k during their their first year, but that goes up to about 75k after year 1 and by year 4 are making about 100k. No sales tax or state income tax in Anchorage, only city property tax which is about $1,300 per $100,000 of property assessed. Unfortunately, they just changed our pension system for new hires into a 401k, not a true pension. Insurance is still pretty good...we pay 10% of the increase in the premium costs from base year 2002, which currently is like $20 a month for us.
Eric_and_CorinnaMaleCanada2008-08-18 11:18:00
CanadaHaving a baby in the USA on K1
QUOTE (wishiwasthere23 @ Aug 25 2008, 10:02 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
QUOTE (Reba @ Aug 25 2008, 03:33 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Even with insurance in the US, it'll still cost more to have the baby here than it would in Canada. Plus, while you're on Canadian maternity leave, you can move to the US on your K1 and still collect EI benefits.

No, the baby would not need a visa, they would need to register his/her birth abroad at the US consulate, and it would have US citizenship.



No..well i call him my hubby now..but we are only engaged smile.gif

Thank you for all the helpful info...we have decided it would be best for me to have the baby here, and he will come up for the birth. But I have another question...if he is here fo the birth, how will he let his US consolute now about the babies birth, so that they baby has a US passport?or will it be a US citizen..this confuses me also.

Thanks a bunch guys...u rock!!


Your child will be a dual US-Canadian citizen if you aply for the Consular Birth Abroad. This is a good place to start:

http://toronto.uscon...t=births_abroad

I'm just assuming you would be near Toronto. The paperwork is kind of a pain in the ####### and kind of confusing, but the process at the Consulate itself is very painless. The biggest pain is getting an expedited Ontario birth certificate-normally they take something like 4 months. If you get your local MP involved, they can get the birth certificate to you pretty quickly.
Eric_and_CorinnaMaleCanada2008-08-26 00:22:00
CanadaBirth Cert
QUOTE (StaceyG @ Aug 22 2008, 04:00 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Im working my butt off right now trying to get all that stuff together, hoping I can get an interview date for early Oct... My application is on the way to NVC or the embassy right now so I think I should get package three here in a week or two... Im not sure if im being relistic with planning a moving date for NOv 2nd, but trying to pin point some kinda date down, cause with two kids I need some kinda plan.... Im interviewing at VAncouver cause Im in Winnipeg, people tell me thats a good thing so we will see..



I think you'll be allowed to move much faster then that...Vancouver interviews seem to get scheduled way faster then Montreal. It wouldn't surprise me to see you have an interview mid-end of September!
Eric_and_CorinnaMaleCanada2008-08-26 20:23:00
CanadaMigrating to a Mac?
wow guys...

thanks for the responses. Jedi and Deadpool, you were way over my head, but it sounds like a Mac is a solid machine and we'll go test drive one today. You may be getting a PM from us if we get lost blush.gif

Thanks again smile.gif
Eric_and_CorinnaMaleCanada2008-08-25 18:56:00
CanadaMigrating to a Mac?
Thanks for all your replies. My wife won't be doing any actual work on it, just using it for internet access, and storing lots of pictures and music files. Can you use MSN messenger or Skype on a Mac?
Eric_and_CorinnaMaleCanada2008-08-25 12:07:00
CanadaMigrating to a Mac?
Our one year old son decided he would celebrate moving to the US by dousing Corinna's laptop with lemonade, so we need to get a replacement laptop. It's the only way she stays in touch with all of her friends back in Canada, so time is of the essence smile.gif

We're thinking of crossing over to a Mac...anyone have any suggestions on the model or bad experiences to share?
Eric_and_CorinnaMaleCanada2008-08-25 00:43:00
CanadaPictures of your Wedding
We got married in Maui at sunset...I spent most of the ceremony checking out whales jumping around in the water. And the minister decided to put me on the downhill slope of the beach, which makes our other pics look funny, since my wife is 5'11" and I'm only 5'8"!!

Attached Files


Eric_and_CorinnaMaleCanada2008-06-06 10:35:00
CanadaHome Decorating Thread
QUOTE (Krikit @ May 26 2008, 09:40 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
QUOTE (Eric_and_Corinna @ May 26 2008, 12:26 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Here is our son's room...which has been sitting empty since my wife was denied entry last June. The little guy will be a year old by the time he gets to check it out.

That's a beautiful room, Eric. Is that a timeout chair facing the wall? laughing.gif



No...not a timeout chair for the little man. We need a seatbelt to keep him in anything! But I've been told to sit in it a few times whistling.gif
Eric_and_CorinnaMaleCanada2008-05-26 15:49:00
CanadaHome Decorating Thread
Here is our son's room...which has been sitting empty since my wife was denied entry last June. The little guy will be a year old by the time he gets to check it out.

Attached Files


Eric_and_CorinnaMaleCanada2008-05-25 23:26:00
CanadaMTL (and others) Waiting for an interview date
QUOTE (heavenly @ Jun 14 2008, 02:42 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
We got our date on Thursday... it's July 17th! Now we just have to decide how long to stay in a hotel there for and get tickets! (and schedule a medical exam!)


Congrats!! I know Liz is busy, but I can't wait to see the updated spreadsheet and all the interview dates lining up good.gif
Eric_and_CorinnaMaleCanada2008-06-14 14:23:00
CanadaMTL (and others) Waiting for an interview date
LOL...My watch hadn't been set back and I thought I was still an hour behind!!

I called and WE GOT IT!! July 14th!! Perfect timing because I already had my plane tickets bought from Alaska and was planning to be there July7th-24th!!! I don't even have to take extra time off work!!!

All these people sitting around me are wondering why the hell I'm smiling to big smile.gifsmile.gifsmile.gifsmile.gifsmile.gifsmile.gifsmile.gifsmile.gifsmile.gif
Eric_and_CorinnaMaleCanada2008-06-12 15:18:00
CanadaMTL (and others) Waiting for an interview date
Awesome!! I'm in Minneapolis on my way home from Canada and won't be able to check until tomorrow! Congrats to everyone else though smile.gif
Eric_and_CorinnaMaleCanada2008-06-12 15:04:00
CanadaMTL (and others) Waiting for an interview date
QUOTE (Southern_Canadian @ Jun 11 2008, 11:29 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
I called them this morning and they were open. They might just be closed from 11-12?


Yeah, even for Federal Government workers (and Union members) only being open for an hour is a bit of a stretch!
Eric_and_CorinnaMaleCanada2008-06-11 10:31:00
CanadaMTL (and others) Waiting for an interview date
Last month everyone found out around the 14th..let's keep our fingers crossed that it's going to happen again this month!
Eric_and_CorinnaMaleCanada2008-06-11 09:08:00
CanadaMTL (and others) Waiting for an interview date
QUOTE (Southern_Canadian @ Jun 10 2008, 09:35 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
I just called.. and still no interview date. Maybe tomorrow.


Sorry sad.gif
Eric_and_CorinnaMaleCanada2008-06-10 08:37:00
CanadaMTL (and others) Waiting for an interview date
QUOTE (liz_legend @ Jun 8 2008, 11:31 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
did a search and so made a few more updates ..... you'll see some new names on the spreadsheet...
enjoy! wink.gif


"Ladynoles" got approved, they just posted their review under their real name smile.gif

I wonder what happened to Andreas & Andree, CheeseMAB, and Heavenly...
Eric_and_CorinnaMaleCanada2008-06-09 06:42:00
CanadaMTL (and others) Waiting for an interview date
QUOTE (anxiouslywaiting @ Jun 6 2008, 04:15 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
You sound so optimistic! I think I am going to call on Wednesday. I will put updates everytime I call!


I'll be calling Monday and do the same
Eric_and_CorinnaMaleCanada2008-06-06 15:58:00
CanadaMTL (and others) Waiting for an interview date
QUOTE (anxiouslywaiting @ Jun 6 2008, 12:47 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
I must admit the people at DOS are very friendly. You would think they would get annoyed everytime we call but they don't. Do you think they keep track of how many times you call?


I've called only once, but I've emailed Montreal about 10 times. I'm afraid they move me to the bottom of the stack each time I email...
Eric_and_CorinnaMaleCanada2008-06-06 11:56:00
CanadaMTL (and others) Waiting for an interview date
QUOTE (anxiouslywaiting @ Jun 6 2008, 11:17 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
QUOTE (Eric_and_Corinna @ Jun 6 2008, 10:49 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Southern Canadian and Anxiously Waiting -

I called on Monday and the lady I spoke to said everything had been received and looked good wacko.gif but that we were just in the stack awaiting an interview date. I'm not sure how they do it because, as you guys said, there are some folks who sent their packets in after others, yet already have their interviews. I think you can drive yourself crazy trying to figure it out!

I'm going to limit myself to calling each Monday, and pray that the interview falls during one of my trips to Canada so I don't have to buy another plane ticket and take more time off work than I already do!


I am driving myself crazy well actually my fiance is driving me crazy, everyday he is like "are you going to call? please call". I am going to limit myself to every Friday afternoon!

Southern_Canadian .. when was the last time you called? I will for sure let you know after I call. I think I am going to call around 3 today! Does anyone know how late they are open till?


I believe it's 5pm Eastern Time
Eric_and_CorinnaMaleCanada2008-06-06 10:24:00
CanadaMTL (and others) Waiting for an interview date
Southern Canadian and Anxiously Waiting -

I called on Monday and the lady I spoke to said everything had been received and looked good wacko.gif but that we were just in the stack awaiting an interview date. I'm not sure how they do it because, as you guys said, there are some folks who sent their packets in after others, yet already have their interviews. I think you can drive yourself crazy trying to figure it out!

I'm going to limit myself to calling each Monday, and pray that the interview falls during one of my trips to Canada so I don't have to buy another plane ticket and take more time off work than I already do!
Eric_and_CorinnaMaleCanada2008-06-06 09:49:00
CanadaMTL (and others) Waiting for an interview date
QUOTE (BIGG DADDY @ Jun 2 2008, 12:11 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
QUOTE (rae_and_scott @ Jun 2 2008, 10:57 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Review added. smile.gif

Melusine, I hope you have (or had) a safe flight! Best of luck to you on Wednesday too and I can't wait to hear the good news. biggrin.gif

CBR, are you getting psyched?!



Hello,

Just got off the phone with DOS......Interview scheduled for June 27 8:30am!

Good luck to everyone and Congrats to those who are on their way!!!!



That's awesome!! I just called DOS and they haven't scheduled mine yet, but that's a good thing. When I saw yours was scheduled for late June, I was afraid I was going to have to find a last minute plane ticket from Alaska to Canada, plus take a bunch of time off work...I'm keeping my fingers crossed about getting an interview anywhere between July 8th and July 22nd...but I'll gladly take anything after waiting this long!!
Eric_and_CorinnaMaleCanada2008-06-02 13:50:00
CanadaMTL (and others) Waiting for an interview date
Good luck Rae!
Eric_and_CorinnaMaleCanada2008-05-30 21:51:00
CanadaMTL (and others) Waiting for an interview date
QUOTE (rae_and_scott @ May 28 2008, 10:27 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Oh I definitely plan to do it and think it's good advice; I just wasn't sure if it could only be done one way or the other. This is good, as I plan to just get mine there.
Thanks. smile.gif


Let us know how that goes for you, since there are some of us (ahem) who are having the same worries whistling.gif
Eric_and_CorinnaMaleCanada2008-05-28 11:02:00
CanadaMTL (and others) Waiting for an interview date
Congratulations to everyone who's getting interviews!! I imagine mine isn't much farther behind the rest of you good.gif

Isn't it such a weird feeling to know that this entire experience is finally coming to an end?
Eric_and_CorinnaMaleCanada2008-05-14 16:31:00
CanadaMTL (and others) Waiting for an interview date
Please pardon my naivete...

but why do I see some people with a packet 4 on their timeline? Is that only for K-1 visas? I sent back my packet 3 back to Montreal but haven't seen any directions for a packet 4 with my K-3 visa.
Eric_and_CorinnaMaleCanada2008-05-08 11:02:00
CanadaOff Topic Forum...
QUOTE (flames9 @ Jun 9 2008, 04:31 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
i dont understand why one cant park on a driveway?? isn't that their purpose?? to keep them off the street?


One would think. But the whole intent of the keeping cars out of the driveways was to facilitate snow removal in the winter. But this lunatic was out there trying to tow cars in July!
Eric_and_CorinnaMaleCanada2008-06-09 20:05:00
CanadaOff Topic Forum...
QUOTE (flames9 @ Jun 9 2008, 01:26 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
One has a right to see the HOA agreement prior to purchasing, and its usually one of the items one puts in the sales contract, so if ya don tlike what ya see, you can back out! Plus when purchasing I'm one of those people that knocks on various houses throughout the neighborhood to get a fee of everything. Would preferably not reside in a HOA area, but those seem to be in the minority out where we are looking. But on the other hand, everything seems to be in nice shape and no purple houses,lol


The problem with some of the HOA's is that you get some psycho who has enough time on her hands to actually run the board, then runs it into the ground. We tried to get our rules changed to allow vehicles to be left overnight in our driveways (imagine that!) and it was almost as compicated as getting the K-3 visa! And with the exception of my POS truck, everyone else in my 'hood has BMWs, Acuras, etc.

But I agree, the covenants regarding colors and yard maintenance are certainly nice and keep everyone's property values in line.
Eric_and_CorinnaMaleCanada2008-06-09 15:28:00
CanadaOff Topic Forum...
Yeah, the beauty of condo living!

My condo association is comprised of 17 small townhouse units on a private dead end drive, and the majority of the owners are young professionals who pretty much keep to themselves. But, the old HOA President's wife used to wake up at 5am every morning to compile a list of cars that were parked in driveways (this is a no-no). The driveways and common cul-de-sac are to be kept vacant for snow-clearing purposes. But this lady would enter all these license plates numbers into her spreadsheet and have her husband leave notes about not parking on people's windshields, and further violation would result in towing. Thank God they moved!

I can't wait to own a house where I can put my rusty pickup in the front lawn along with a boat and assorted bathtubs. good.gif

Oh, and $300 a year would be a steal! We pay $216 per unit per month sad.gif
Eric_and_CorinnaMaleCanada2008-06-09 10:06:00
CanadaOff Topic Forum...
QUOTE (~Laura and Nick~ @ Jun 8 2008, 08:34 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Holy storms!!!
We are experiencing a huge round of severe thunderstorms and tornado warnings in Southern Ontario.

The lady on the weather network scared me!
She was all "IF YOU ARE IN BRANTFORD, GO TO YOUR BASEMENT"
ohmy.gif

Scary!!!
We just got another round and more is coming.

I love storms but it's scary!!


I was flipping thru channels and the weather gal said that it's expected within TO in the next half hour
Eric_and_CorinnaMaleCanada2008-06-08 19:42:00
CanadaOff Topic Forum...
QUOTE (SpiritAlight @ Jun 4 2008, 09:44 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Barack Obama:
today is truly the dawn of a new day.
star_smile.gif star_smile.gif star_smile.gif


good.gif

My guy was Chris Dodd...but I'll vote for anyone who changes the status quo! I just hope Obama and Hillary didn't beat each other up so badly that he can't recover...
Eric_and_CorinnaMaleCanada2008-06-04 10:26:00
CanadaOff Topic Forum...
QUOTE (SpiritAlight @ Jun 2 2008, 09:51 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
QUOTE (Leafgal @ Jun 2 2008, 07:32 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
QUOTE (Carlawarla @ Jun 2 2008, 08:16 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Good Morning! You've gotten some very cute pictures of Tim's coffee this last week charles. How sweet! I just finished my can of Tim's my daughter brought down. Had to see her off at the airport..gosh I hate airports and saying goodbye. crying.gif

Hope everyone has a fabulous week! After visitors and travelling, it will be nice to have a quiet week at home!


Airports and good bye are the worst, I hate them.

This is why my friend's insists we say, "See ya!" then turn and walk away... and not look back.
I did stop once and look back to see if she had/would.
Nope.
She didn't.
Taught me a lesson over a decade ago that I have shared with others.
It is way better than long goodbyes.
We always "see ya" again. good.gif

I loved that up to the minute reporting and photo Trailmix.
star_smile.gif


That's good advice smile.gif

My friends and family barely slow the vehicle to a safe enough speed for me to leap to the curb -better have my bags and ticket in hand, because there's no stopping! And there's no waiting around at the airport, that's for sure!!

I've been unsuccessfully trying to teach Corinna this method, but so far, no dice. Thankfully, we've started leaving the little man at home when she drops me off, because as hard as it is leaving Corinna, it's absolute murder leaving my son sad.gif
Eric_and_CorinnaMaleCanada2008-06-02 10:11:00
CanadaOff Topic Forum...
Well, I flew into Sudbury to see Corinna and little man (hopefully only two more of these trips, including the interview) and here's the shirt I was greeted with!

I guess you should be careful what you wish for...we had been thinking we wanted to space them two years apart! blush.gif

Attached Files


Eric_and_CorinnaMaleCanada2008-05-30 11:24:00
CanadaWhy does it have to hurt so much?
I'm sorry Laura:(
Eric_and_CorinnaMaleCanada2009-02-18 12:50:00
CanadaOn behalf of my little bratty brother..
I have no idea about the plates, but does your bro play up in Elmira?
Eric_and_CorinnaMaleCanada2009-03-12 00:38:00
CanadaCanadian Family Allowance
Yep...you will have to pay it back. We kept receiving the checks in Corinna's CDN account as well, even though we notified them that we had moved at the end of August. We owe for Sept- January, which is when they finally stopped sending the checks. There is a phone number on the CTB application that we used that allowed us to talk to an actual person...it took a few times, but it finally happened.
Eric_and_CorinnaMaleCanada2009-04-03 16:42:00
CanadaCanadian citizenship for new daughter
thanks Trailmix...the page i was looking at was "applying for citizenship" indeed.
Eric_and_CorinnaMaleCanada2009-05-06 17:27:00
CanadaCanadian citizenship for new daughter
hi all...

We're currently in Alaska, but we want to get our dual-citizenship for our baby daughter...anyone have any suggestions for how to go about it? I looked on the Canada immigration page, and it said that the application could take a year? Is that true? Surely there has to be some way to fill out the paperwork while on vacation back home and have it go faster than that!
Eric_and_CorinnaMaleCanada2009-05-06 11:46:00
CanadaMontreal United States Embassy
I'm surprised you didn't get shot at taking the pics. We're at Code Level Orange now. wacko.gif

Thank you very much for posting them
Eric_and_CorinnaMaleCanada2008-01-06 22:34:00