Call Me "Citizen"!

The day finally arrived.  It took two and a half years but it is finally done. From March 24th, 2014, I am officially a Canadian citizen. Not in heart and spirit alone...it's the real McCoy.

I have been muting my feelings towards citizenship for fear of jinxing the application.  Now that everything is done and dusted, a heavy weight seemed to have been lifted off my shoulders.  It was not a comfortable feeling having one's future in the hands of somebody else.  It took a whole year for for Citizenship and Immigration Canada to respond to my application asking for more documentation.  Then another 15 months for me to be informed to prepare for the citizenship exam.  All that time I had been wondering: Did they find something wrong?  I knew I had nothing to hide but who knows...some bureaucratic technicality was always possible.  I dreaded getting a brown envelope (most Canadian government correspondence come in brown envelopes!) with a letter saying something like... Dear Sir, Your application was rejected because our background check shows that you are in arrears for an overdue library book.

Anyway, all's well that ends well.  I passed the exam and received the invitation to the Citizenship Ceremony.  During registration, the immigration officer collected my Permanent Resident Card.  You won't be needing this anymore.  I still felt an automatic jolt of anxiety.  All these years, I had kept that little card as if it were the Crown Jewels and now it was being taken away. I was not used to being somewhere without being required a visa!

I thought this ceremony would just be a boring formality.  Just give me the certificate, will you?  But, as I raised my right hand and enunciated the Oath of Citizenship...and later on, as I sang "O Canada", I felt something.... or some things.

First, a sense of immense gratitude.  I had chosen to live in Canada.  This day, Canada chose to accept me as one of its own.  No more trying to prove that I belonged here.

Second, an internal transformation.  Outwardly, nothing's going to change in my daily routine; but inside of me, there was a subtle change in attitude.  I used to be a guest in this country.  A guest may be welcome but his stay is at the pleasure of the host. This day, the host just told me, "You are a guest no longer. You are one of us now."  Wow, what a feeling!

Third, a renewed resolve. This is my backyard now and I aim to take very good care of it.

So, I can't wait for the next elections or a call to jury duty (but ah... I won't say that one out loud too much... he! he!).  Bring them on.  Call me "citizen"!  

Finally!

Sunday Chickenburger

The highlight of our weekend was a trip to one of our favourite eateries in Halifax...Chickenburger!

Don't fret. No food porn this time.

Just a little bit of the decor.  Jukebox and retro neon!

This is what you see when you look up. :-)

And did you ever notice the picture window?

Could have been a Japanese garden out there....if you try hard enough to erase the Bedford Highway! :-)

Hockey Sticks

Canada won gold in both women's and men's hockey in the Sochi Olympics.  The whole country cheered.  I was right there in spirit.  In Canada, hockey is everywhere.  Now I love the game too...er, let me re-phrase... Now I love to watch the game too. :-)

https://twitter.com/Molson_Canadian/status/436882819264937984

So...!  I thought I should put out a hockey-related post.  Spotlight on this lost-and-found box.

Look closely... It's made of old hockey sticks!  Don't you just love it?

This box can be found at the Centennial Arena...Home of the Halifax Hawks Minor Hockey Association.

This is the kind of place where it all starts.  From Peewee to NHL to Olympic gold!

Still Winter Here

It has been many snowstorms and blizzards since my last post.   

So I shall regale you with images of winter in Halifax. ;-)

This bus is in camouflage. :-)

My wife and I got caught in a nasty blizzard last month.  It was not a fun drive home.  No traction, poor visibility...every small incline felt like Mt. Everest.

Thank goodness for four-wheel drives and winter tires!  When we finally reached home, I felt deserving of a I-survived-the-blizzard t-shirt.  Maybe I should get some printed for next time...

No rushing home in the winter.  Gotta allow some time for the windows to clear up.  Below is the view from inside the car as I waited for the heating/defrosting to kick in.  I am not really sure how it happens but the windshield was actually frozen from the inside.  My ice scraper was next to useless for "inside jobs".

Let me end with a warm note.  My daughter's birthday cake...er, pie. :-) I am blessed with a daughter who prefers the simple to the glitzy.  It was a very happy time for the whole family. :-)

May spring be on our doorstep soon...

First Snowstorm Of The Season

May the snowblower gods look kindly upon us when the time comes to mobilize!

In other words.... Please start when I press the ignition button!

Persistent Or Stubborn?

At the back of our shop, there is an apple tree.  It is actually on our neighbour's property but its branches stretch past the fence.  Every autumn, this tree litters our place with little apples...and I love it when that happens, rotting apples notwithstanding!  It reminds me of the passing of the seasons; it reminds me of beginnings and endings.

Now the temperature hovers close to freezing.  Winter is coming and the tree's leaves are almost bare.  But I notice one apple left clinging...hanging on even in the face of certain death.  Not even the strong rainstorm last night dislodged it!  Is this apple especially persistent or merely stubborn?

The answer is probably neither. It simply isn't its time to go yet.  

I have much to learn from this apple.