Forum	Title	Content	Member	Sex	Country	Date/Time
Canada	Good luck to all the Canadians with interviews this week!	Congrats Mal! And good luck to everyone else!	derekkj	Not Telling	Canada	2010-03-01 13:30:00
Canada	Home Alarm Systems	Neither D nor I have ever been in a home with an alarm system. But he really wants to get one for the new house. I don't see the need - the neighboorhood is pretty safe and our house so small that if anyone breaks in, they will have plenty of time to steal what little we have and be long gone before the police arrive!	derekkj	Not Telling	Canada	2010-03-05 10:44:00
Canada	Canadian Obtaining a Florida DL - Lessons Learned	Lol. This story reminds me of when D went to get his Virginia license. He had filled out the application with his middle name. But for whatever reason his middle name isn't on his passport or Montreal driver's license so the DMV lady said since the names don't match she couldn't process the application. Fortunately a colleague overheard the conversation, grabbed the application, took a pen and crossed out his middle name and said, "Problem solved!" And would you believe that is all it took for the stupid cow to get D his license? I nearly wet myself I was laughing so hard afterwards. So long story short, DMV's hire the absolute worst employees - just ask Selma and Patty. And congrats on your patience!	derekkj	Not Telling	Canada	2010-03-05 15:08:00
Canada	Good Luck, Wyatt's Torch	Congrats! Looking forward to having another Canadian in Alexandria!	derekkj	Not Telling	Canada	2010-03-05 10:40:00
Canada	HOOOOOOOOOOOCKEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEY	Time is slowly healing all wounds and I was able to watch (and now post) this without crying. I will even admit part of it made me laugh. http://www.youtube.c...layer_embedded#	derekkj	Not Telling	Canada	2010-03-09 15:15:00
Canada	HOOOOOOOOOOOCKEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEY	I just found it hilarious that so many canadian fans after would have fit that stereotypical "ugly american" mold in that coverage. I understand that it's a big deal, made even bigger by beating a rival. But double fisting beer while screaming "YOU SUCK USA" into a news camera is a bit much What I took away from the tournament was the improved level of play from the U.S.. There are a lot of young players on the team who showed their mettle. They aren't quite at the level of Canada yet, but the gap has been closed considerably. I won't say that there deserved to be a shootout, or another game, because there is no reason for it. You play the game, and in this particular game, Canada played better, plain and simple. I do think that the bar has been set higher for the U.S.. Prior to this, we would have been happy to have won a silver. But we got so close, and saw that we can compete on an equal level. I was thinking the same thing. Fortunately everyone at the Embassy was very gracious after the game was over but I saw some TV coverage that made me wonder if they weren't secretly Americans dressed as Canadians. Doesn't help that Derek keeps calling me at work and when I answer the phone all he says is "Can a da, Can a da, Can a da". Edited by derekkj, 01 March 2010 - 01:29 PM.	derekkj	Not Telling	Canada	2010-03-01 13:29:00
Canada	HOOOOOOOOOOOCKEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEY	Awww...I'll miss out. No worries, they have a great Canada Day party too. Last year there no poutine but I am keeping fingers crossed for this year!	derekkj	Not Telling	Canada	2010-02-26 15:52:00
Canada	HOOOOOOOOOOOCKEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEY	What a first period! 6-0! Well, I guess there's no doubt who Canada will be facing if they get through Slovakia tonight... And there is no doubt that D and I will be watching it. Go Canada! I want another great party at the Canadian Embassy!	derekkj	Not Telling	Canada	2010-02-26 15:48:00
Canada	HOOOOOOOOOOOCKEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEY	Whoa, USA 4 Finland 0 with 9 minutes remaining in the 1st! Sorry, Scott, they had to pull Kip. Not his game at all.	derekkj	Not Telling	Canada	2010-02-26 15:26:00
Canada	HOOOOOOOOOOOCKEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEY	Have to work again toniith!! Was suppose to have it off, but switched with another person, ouch!! Hopefully it is on NBC, as I know 1 of my pts will watch it,lol Lot of times in these tournaments, its not the team with the best players that wins, its the team that comes together the quickest. I'm rooting for Canada 100%, but I have said all along <b>the Russians are the team to beat.</b> Agreed. And if the USA and Canada are both out and Russia is still in then I will root for them if only because of Ovie. Watching the USA game now at work, lol. 0-0 at the end of the first. And as an Islander fan, I have had my fair share of sucky seasons. But they are MY sucky team and I love them!	derekkj	Not Telling	Canada	2010-02-24 15:47:00
Canada	HOOOOOOOOOOOCKEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEY	Reasons why we lost that game? Goaltending on both ends. Brodeur did not play well, and Miller did. Simple as that. Had Brodeur made the saves he was supposed to, and not put himself out of position (and as a goalie, that's WHAT A GOALIE'S JOB IS, to be IN POSITION) even with Miller's stellar performance, we should have won that game. /stepping out of my crease now Completely agree. I actually thought Canada was going to kick US as$ and was ready to take some good natured heckling as an American watching the game at the Canadian Embassy. Instead, some upset Canadian asked me why any f@cking Americans were even at the Embassy and why didn't we go to our own embassy to watch the game. Um, ok.	derekkj	Not Telling	Canada	2010-02-22 09:47:00
Canada	I'm Home!	stinky weather and the Caps loose? hmmmmmm!!!1 lol Hmmm, indeed! Welcome neighbor! And get used to getting lost in Northern VA. Once you know your way around it will be no problem. But in the meantime, be prepared for some of the crappiest signage in the US. I think they do it to get the tourists lost.	derekkj	Not Telling	Canada	2010-03-14 18:18:00
Canada	Auto Insurance in the U.S.	Thanks for all of that info. So I'm sure they'll consider me "covered" insurance-wise with my Canadian insurance, correct? They'd better... I don't think I could afford the $500 lump sum right away... And what do you mean by personal property tax? Well, the glorious commonwealth of Virginia taxes your car each and every year, yee ha! It's based on a percentage of the blue book value of your car and you pay it to whatever county or city you are living in. I think (like us) you are in the City of Alexandria and you can find more information here: http://alexandriava.gov/Cartax I am not sure how much it will cost you but we pay around $125 per year for the 2003 Impala but the Saturn is so old that it has no real value so they only charge $50 for the decal. And I would definitely check with both your Canadian insurance and the VA DMV to see if your insurance carries over down here. So in order to register your car down here you will need to pay for registration which is about $40 or so, plus a safety and emissions inspections which will be about $50 or so for both, then whatever your personal property tax is, plus whatever it will cost for your license itself which shouldn't be more than $32. Personal property tax aside, Derek was gobsmacked about how cheap it is down here as compared to Montreal. Flames, am I forgetting anything?	derekkj	Not Telling	Canada	2010-02-03 16:51:00
Canada	Auto Insurance in the U.S.	Actually, I think Wyatt will be in VA not DC so here is the link to the "New to VA" section of the VA DMV: http://www.dmv.state...oving/newva.asp FWIW, you don't actually have to have insurance to register your car in VA though you do have to pay a $500 Uninsured Motorist Fee. Besides the insurance, Wyatt, you are also going to have get the car registered (which means getting an safety/emissions inspection first) and also paying personal property tax to Alexandria so you can get a decal to put in your windshield. And as I found out the hard way Alexandria police just LOVE to give tickets if you don't have the correct decal. Each county has their own decal so when D and I moved from Arlington to Alexandria back in September (all of 3 miles), one of the first things I did was register with Alexandria. And even though you have 30 days to do so, after only 2 weeks both D and my car got ticketed. I managed to get them overturned but it was just a pain to have to deal with. Oh, and for both the 2003 Impala and 1995 Saturn, we pay $67.75 a month with Allstate. We got a discount for being married as well as a discount on our home owners. Ain't moving a joy?	derekkj	Not Telling	Canada	2010-02-03 12:37:00
Canada	psst, I got my driver's license today (for the 1st time ever) at 26 :)	Congrats Lizelle! Just don't drink and drive tonight. I was a late bloomer driver too - 21 - but learned in NY so Virginia is almost tame in comparison!	derekkj	Not Telling	Canada	2010-05-18 12:11:00
Canada	Paying Canadian Taxes from US account	UPDATE: Guess what. It took Canada only 17 days (INCLUDING weekends) to cash the cheque from our American Bank account for my Canadian taxes. Looks like they really will always find a way to get our money... awesome. Lol, it took them less then a week to cash D's, though his was from his Canadian account. Of course still waiting to get the US refunds	derekkj	Not Telling	Canada	2010-05-18 12:15:00
Canada	The Vent - Part Trois	Judging by the picture, it was Coors Light. That's not beer!!! Sacrilege! Should have at least been Molson. I haven't seen much of the media coverage but from what I read it seems it was the IOC who had a pole up their ####. Was their celebrating a bit over the top? Sure. Was it hurting anyone? Nope. Let 'em party!	derekkj	Not Telling	Canada	2010-02-26 16:01:00
Canada	The Vent - Part Trois	My vent - yesterday D and I went out to get some brunch and discovered that some asshat had sideswiped his car the night before, leaving huge scrapes on the drivers side from stem to stern and completely taking off the mirror. But no note of course. We live right down the block from a popular restaurant/bar so probably drunk, grrrr. Sorta surprised that we didn't hear anything since the car was parked on the street right under our bedroom window. But I am beginning to think the car has a "hit me" sign on because this is the 3rd or 4th time it has been hit while parked since D moved 4 years ago. Fortunately everyone else until this idiot has left a note. It's only 5:20 out there, so it'll be at least 3hrs. :\ Hope you hear something soon. I hate not knowing and uncertainty.	derekkj	Not Telling	Canada	2010-01-25 09:25:00
Canada	The Vent - Part Trois	QUOTE (Flames9_RN @ Dec 4 2009, 12:06 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Nicer stuff,more organic stuff! The one close to Dererkkj used to have great smoothies--then they did a reno and they closed to smoothie shop that was in the store! They were sooooooo good!!! and healthy. Ya know, I did a bit of price comparison with Safeway and Giant and it wasn't that much different. For some stuff - beer! - they were actually cheaper. But we don't like any of the grocery stores, including HT, where we live now (just moved to Alexandria in September) and still go back to the HT in Arlington ever week. Plus, I still think that one of these days I am going to see Brooks Laich or Mike Green in the frozen food aisle. It's all good though since we are closer to Trader Joe's, yay!	derekkj	Not Telling	Canada	2009-12-04 12:13:00
Canada	The Vent - Part Trois	QUOTE (Flames9_RN @ Dec 4 2009, 11:42 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> 9C right now. Yup, time to hit Harris Teeter and grab all the toilet paper, bread and milk!	derekkj	Not Telling	Canada	2009-12-04 11:59:00
Canada	The Vent - Part Trois	QUOTE (Wyatt's Torch @ Dec 4 2009, 11:11 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (derekkj @ Dec 4 2009, 08:07 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (Flames9_RN @ Dec 3 2009, 07:37 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I just keep internet and reality separate,lol Yep same building, few floors beneath us, never met them. Nice poeple, but never met. And he was from Quebec, so not really Cdn,lol just kidding Lol, that would be us. And while he is from Montreal, if you call him French Canadian he gets pissed off. We've met a few VJ's IRL and would certainly do another get together. Just gotta say...I'm glad you guys have stuck around on this forum, given how long you've already been here. VJ is like a roach motel - you check in but never check out! Mosty lurking since Derek got his gc but now that he is thinking of getting his citizenship, I am back to find out what the latest is.	derekkj	Not Telling	Canada	2009-12-04 11:15:00
Canada	The Vent - Part Trois	QUOTE (Flames9_RN @ Dec 3 2009, 07:37 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I just keep internet and reality separate,lol Yep same building, few floors beneath us, never met them. Nice poeple, but never met. And he was from Quebec, so not really Cdn,lol just kidding Lol, that would be us. And while he is from Montreal, if you call him French Canadian he gets pissed off. We've met a few VJer's IRL and would certainly do another get together. Edited by derekkj, 04 December 2009 - 11:11 AM.	derekkj	Not Telling	Canada	2009-12-04 11:07:00
Canada	Off Topic Part Quatre	Just drove 5 hrs to Wheeling West Virginia just for TIM HORTONS!!!! yep chil for a bit with my coffee, then back to DC,lol coffee does not quite taste the same but pretty close. Better than the RI Timmies! Plus this Store looks exactly like the Timmies back in Canada, where as the RI timmies have a yellow siding. I better win something onthe roll up to rim to win!! Lol, that's hardcore, Flames! Though I confess I once drove 4 hours to my favorite lunch place so I completely understand sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do!	derekkj	Not Telling	Canada	2010-03-05 10:46:00
Canada	Off Topic Part Quatre	It is. I don't like doing this at all! I want this place sooo badly! I have had dreams both nights since Saturday about it. I wasn't enjoying the house hunt at all until I saw that place and Mike and I both looked at each other after we saw it and said: "That's the one' but we didn't want to get our hopes up. I wouldn't have to paint it, we wouldn't have to redo the kitchen... we could use that money on some new furniture. It's just perfect for us. I love the neighborhood too, would take me 5 minutes to get to work (as opposed to 15 minutes ) and my son's school is just down the road. OH and i noticed the people living next door have an Ottawa Senators sticker on their window! Canadian bffs anyone?? Lol, D and I moved in September and are finally starting to explore our neighborhood. A few weeks ago we walked past a house just a few blocks from us that was flying a lovely Canadian flag and had three cars in the driveway, all with Canadian flag bumper stickers. Their license plates cracked us up though - a huge SUV whose plate said "Big Eh" a Smart car whose plate said "Smart Eh" and a Suburu WRX whose plate said "Rally Eh". We really need to meet them! And good luck with the house Sprailness! It's a process that nearly drove me insane but it's well worth it in the end.	derekkj	Not Telling	Canada	2010-02-22 16:16:00
Canada	Off Topic Part Quatre	Whoa, 140 km/hr before he lost control! Still want to try skeleton at least once. Nothing like face first luge.	derekkj	Not Telling	Canada	2010-02-12 15:25:00
Canada	Off Topic Part Quatre	Will pass,lol I was going to go out and shovel, but with the high winds, there really is no use! I dont work till Friday night, fridge is full of beer, I'm good to go!! Eh, was worth a shot. Just got in from shoveling front and back. Looked at the cars and said no way! Is definitely windy out there! And of course just as I finished, Derek got home from work. Figures!	derekkj	Not Telling	Canada	2010-02-10 12:52:00
Canada	Off Topic Part Quatre	I just applied for a job in Washington D.C. Wow...what a cool feeling! Major thanks to Derekkj for putting an employment idea in my head... You're welcome and good luck! Am going to PM you with a few others... I know right! As Im typing, I want to report that I can actually hear the wind rumbling outside... Same here. Just waiting for either the tree in my front yard to come crashing through our front windows or the power to go out. Scott, you want to come over and shovel my walk as well?	derekkj	Not Telling	Canada	2010-02-10 11:43:00
Canada	Off Topic Part Quatre	John's work was open yesterday and today. Money money money...that's what it's all about. My boss lives in Stafford County, where they didn't get as much (still a bunch, but not what we got), so I think his judgement is cloudy when it comes to actually working. Guaranteed he's working from home. Still no flakes here yet...we'll get it before DC will, so I'll keep you all updated Yup, the Canadian Embassy is open again today although they at least cancelled an event there tonight. Think most of the employees stayed home though. Metro finally opened outdoor stations but Metrobus is still not running to capacity and a lot of roads still have to be plowed so a lot of people still can't go anywhere. Last I heard BWI was pretty much open but Dulles and National are still struggling. Starting to go a bit stir crazy too, J&K. Never would have thought I would be wanting to go back to work!	derekkj	Not Telling	Canada	2010-02-09 11:49:00
Canada	Off Topic Part Quatre	Fortunately the Federal Agencies are closed in D.C....which is often a cue for many other businesses and organizations in the area to close too. Like my wife's work. That sucks even more about the Tuesday system though...I can't see them closing everything down for two days in a row. Apparently Virginia is behind Maryland when it comes to snowplowing. My wife's boss called her yesterday to tell her that the 395 wasn't even properly plowed. Yeah, the Capitol is closed today so I got to stay home. But technically the Canadian Embassy is open and since he is in the security department Derek had to go in this morning. He says there are about 12 people there, lol. He commutes on 395 and said that only the far left lane had been plowed properly so even at 5am when everyone is off the drive in was a nightmare. I can't believe how out of shape I am though - I am so stiff and sore from the shoveling this weekend!	derekkj	Not Telling	Canada	2010-02-08 11:31:00
Canada	Off Topic Part Quatre	So the snow in DC et al..... Why did they close schools, offices, etc long before the snow started falling? Thank you for having a snowstorm before I get there for my house-hunting trip. Please arrange for warmer weather by Feb 22nd as I do not own any winter clothing. Who has pics?? Unfortunately I think it has a lot to do with everyone afraid of getting sued. They really don't handle snow well here - which surprises me because we usually do get at least some every year. You would think they would figure it out eventually. And as for pix, here are some more: and my personal favorite. Apparentely someone was looking for my neighbor, April. Unfortunately this was not her car!	derekkj	Not Telling	Canada	2010-02-07 15:22:00
Canada	Off Topic Part Quatre	I don't think there's much chance of it melting on Sunday either...Monday might be a "snow day" in Washington! That's pretty crazy about Tuesday too. Yup, it looks like it is going to be cold for a good long while. Still have to dig out the cars too, sigh. I am hoping for another snow day on Monday but not counting on it. Right now just loving having electricity again and watching Hockey Night in Canada. Ottawa is getting their #### handed to them by Toronto.	derekkj	Not Telling	Canada	2010-02-06 21:22:00
Canada	Off Topic Part Quatre	Same here...we have about 2.5 feet so far. We got about that here in Alexandria, VA Worst part was losing power for 12 hours! Fortunately kicked back on right as the sun was going down. Keeping fingers crossed that it stays on. Going sledding tomorrow no matter what, whoo hoo! And it's supposed to snow again on Tuesday night.	derekkj	Not Telling	Canada	2010-02-06 20:58:00
Canada	Canada Day, Washington, DC	Just tell them to bring the Unibrou back.. maybe keep the Molson in Canada and bring down some Keiths instead. I will make your request known, lol. Good Stuff is right up the road from where I work and I go there every once in a while for lunch. Didn't know about the poutine during the Olympics though, rats!	derekkj	Not Telling	Canada	2010-05-28 11:53:00
Canada	Canada Day, Washington, DC	There was no poutine last year. The year before there was but it was some hella crappy gravy. And brocku - awesome! We'll see you there! Aww VJ meet up! D says it's probably going to be the same as last year so probably no poutine, boo. But I heard thru the grapevine that there is going to be a new place selling poutine in DC soon. Check out Eat Wonky on fb. And I know I am only a USC but I will be there around lunch time and would love to meet with other VJ'ers. I think Liz will be there too. As one who believes in complete assimilation into the country/culture you are moving to/choosing to live in, then yeah. Disgusts me to see people flying Mexican, Canadian, UK, French, etc. flags outside of their homes at all times of the year. This is the USA, not your home country. If you love your home country so much, go back to it and be a part of it. It's truly that simple. If I was to make the effort to move to another country and wanted to be there, I'd assimilate the same way. Now that's not to say you cannot be happy for another country in their founding/independence on certain holidays like Canada Day, but it should never be one of those things that makes you proud/excited/go out of your way to celebrate --- unless you of course do the same for the 4th of July here. but that should be bigger though. Perhaps you missed the part about this being held at the Canadian Embassy. I don't think they really care about what you think of their flag flying policy on their own land. And personally I will make sure the Canadian flag is flying at our house on July 1 and the US flag on July 4. At other times it's a Welsh flag, a Virginia flag, a New York flag etc. What can I say, I just like flags! Edited by derekkj, 28 May 2010 - 11:38 AM.	derekkj	Not Telling	Canada	2010-05-28 11:38:00
Canada	Canada Day, Washington, DC	He should be working again this year as well so let me know if the Connect2Canada doesn't work for any you. BTW, my avatar was taken from the roof of the Embassy looking down towards the US Capitol. They have a great view up there! I hope I can make it! I work just 10 minutes outside of the city. Last year a VJ members husband got me in, he works security at the embassy. I felt so privileged! Edited by derekkj, 25 May 2010 - 01:01 PM.	derekkj	Not Telling	Canada	2010-05-25 12:59:00
Canada	Anyone have any great study habits???	Lord, I am like the queen of procrastinators too! Why do today what you can put off till tomorrow! But somehow I made it through grad school working full time and taking classes mostly at night. My grandkids will have to figure out how to pay off my student loans, but that's another story. Anyway, all great suggestions so far! I found that making a study schedule (and forcing yourself to stick with it) really helped, studying with a group also worked and having a place that's just for studying (a small corner of your home or the library) is a good idea. And of course, if you win the lottery, don't forget all of us who helped you out when you needed it!	derekkj	Not Telling	Canada	2007-09-11 15:39:00
Canada	Night at the Museum	So, I work at a history/technology museum and every morning my boss and I go down to open everything up and make sure that nothing has gone bump in the night. This morning we looked into a case depicting a WWI trench scene where a US Doughboy is questioning a German soldier and this is what we found. Note the crafty German has a knife under his hand.	derekkj	Not Telling	Canada	2007-09-12 10:06:00
Canada	Depositing into Canadian bank account	Coming in a bit late here but gotta jump on the Custom House bandwagon. Derek still has a car loan back in Canada, so I transfer money from our US account to his RBC account every month. Custom House was fairly painless to set up, has good rates, very friendly customer service (but of course they are Canadian, lol) and I can do it all in my bathrobe at home. The only downside, which I think is very minor, is that it takes a few days for them to move the $$$ from one account to another. But if you can plan ahead or don't need the money like right now, Custom House is the way to go! Thank you Flames for hooking me up! Oh, and the Wachovia bank I went to DID charge us a fee when I deposited our wedding checks there. And this was after them telling me over the phone that there would be no charge. They initially wanted $75 PER CHECK, which I believe is their standard charge for all foreign banks. But I pitched a major fit and we came to an understanding. Needless to say we do not deposit Canadian checks there anymore.	derekkj	Not Telling	Canada	2007-09-14 08:04:00
Canada	Digital Cable help	Years ago, a roommate of mine had one of the first Tivo's. I loved it and have missed it every since he moved out! The roommate was OK too, lol. And I can't tell you how many people came over to our house during that time, fell in love with Tivo and bought one of their own. Derek and I don't currently have one, and I need my Tivo fix, so let me know if you get one. And where you live. BTW, I have seen some Tivo sales around lately at places like Best Buy and Circuit City, so I bet you can pick one up pretty cheaply.	derekkj	Not Telling	Canada	2007-09-13 08:08:00
Canada	Actual LPR Card Arrived today..	QUOTE (trailmix @ Sep 27 2007, 01:27 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (derekkj @ Sep 27 2007, 10:56 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Trust me, y'all have accents! And Derek got like 4 welcome letters too. At first I was excited thinking his green card had come really early. By the 4th one, I was like typical $%&* government wasting the taxpayer's $$$. Anyway, congrats Colin! Well as a rough guesstimate - based on the info I could find "In 2006, 1,266,264 people were granted legal permanent resident status" and based on .41 cents for a letter to be sent - the postage alone for 1 additional welcome for each is about 1/2 a million. Well, they probably get a bulk mail government rate, but still. Yikes!	derekkj	Not Telling	Canada	2007-09-27 15:28:00