hi, i'm jenn

when i started blogging, i did it as a way to keep in touch with people. i was never a fan of the large group mails, preferring instead a blog where i wasn’t forcing my life down people’s throats.

but now, i blog mostly for me. i get a kick out of reading old entries and remembering where i was at a certain point in time.

not to mention, my short attention span, which makes writing long thought out posts difficult (side note: i started this post about a month ago), works super well with one of the new 140 character social networking trends out there. which is why my twitter feed has 900+ updates and in the same time span my blog has, like, 2.

i also am struggling with what this blog should become. i love reading other folks running blogs, and think I might benefit by becoming part of the running blogosphere, but i am not sure i want to make my blog one dimensional.

so i think i’ll keep blogging for me. i’m setting a modest goal of at least one update a week. and please do forgive if there’s an excess amount of running stuff here, that’s how i spend a lot of my time 🙂 i do promise to blog about other things going on though — there’s some travel in the works (anyone been to Chile??) and a few weddings too! not to mention 2 half marathons.

on that note – I had a new Personal Record (PR) today at the sporting life 10km. I ran it in 52:37! I had a goal of 55 minutes, and was secretly hoping for around 52. I’m pretty proud of myself.

then i spent the rest of the day eating cookies, undoing all the good the race had done.

also, i’m super duper tempted to order a Garmin 405 – i think we’re talking days of willpower left… hehe.

I moved!

Yes, I left my colourful apartment of 2.5 years (RIP Hello Kitty Room), and have moved to a bright, white one complete with fun things like a dishwasher and en-suite laundry.

And like my other place, I know a bunch of folks who live in the building. In fact, I know two on my floor. Hehe.

I never did laundry in my old place. I’ve been at my new one for a week and have already done 4 loads. Maybe that’s because my rabbit ears aren’t picking up any channels!(Hmm… I should start taking advantage of the friends with full cable…)

So you’re all invited to come and visit. Don’t worry – there’s still plenty of Hello Kitty around.

For about eight year’s I’ve banked at President’s Choice (PC) Financial.

The good: you get free checking and savings accounts without any service fees. Almost everything is included: cheques, bill payments, interact at CIBC machines, even checking the PDF of your cheques online. All free.

The bad: no branches. All interaction is online or over the phone. Yes, there are kiosks at Loblaws, but if you’ve ever tried to do anything at one, you know that they just sit you down in there and put you on the phone.

Frankly, this wasn’t really an issue until about a month ago. I needed a bank draft/money order. Instead of having a friend get one for me and give them the cash, I decided to figure out how to do it myself. The PC financial website told me I could request a draft online – it would cost $7.50 (which is on par with most other banks), and arrive in the mail in 5-7 business days. I spoke to someone on the phone who confirmed the timeline — it should go into the mail within a day or two, but then would be in Canada Post’s hands. And since I’m in the GTA, I’d likely get it earlier.

This was on Monday March 16, and I needed the draft by the following Thursday March 26. Plenty of time.

Or not.

On the fifth business day, still no draft (though the money had been withdrawn on the day I had ordered the draft). I called the 800 (or 866) number. They told me that it takes 5-7 business days. Fine.

On the seventh business day, there was still no sign of the draft. Called again, this time with my Father (he is scarier than I am). They still blamed Canada Post, but refunded me the $7.50 charge. The person we spoke to said the easiest thing would be to wait until the draft arrived in the mail and deposit it into my account. I said I would wait until Monday (when I was moving) but then they would have to refund me.

Since it was the Thursday now (i.e. the day I needed the draft by), there was no time for them to send a draft to a CIBC branch for me to pick up (wiring the money takes a day or two). Instead they directed me to the post office where I could get a money order. Worked fine for my purposes – and was cheaper than the draft (only $5.50). Not to mention, it took less than 10 minutes and I walked out with it in hand.

The bank draft arrived on MONDAY. 10 business days after it was ordered. The draft was dated March 16. The envelope was postmarked March 27.  Yes, it took PC financial 11 days (9 business days) to get the draft into the mail. It took 2 days for Canada Post to deliver it.

I’m very close to switching banks – just trying to figure out where to. It’s true that I have had little to no problems with PC Financial for 8 years, but this has taught me I can’t depend on them to provide me reliable service when I do need it. That’s something I need from my bank.
Moral of the story: if you need a bank draft (money order, certified cheque etc) and bank with PC financial, don’t bother. And Canada Post isn’t [always] the bad guy.

PS I know this post is out of character – I’m posting in the hopes that the next person who googles PC Financial Bank draft might stumble upon this and save themselves some trouble.

I love reading blogs. I always get excited when a friend makes a new post, and wish most of them would update more often.

And here I am – no update for a whole month.

In any case, the news is that I’m moving. Time for me to move in with a dishwasher and a washer/dryer. Hurray!

Yesterday was laundry day so I slept at the ‘rents. My mom always gives me goodies when I sleep over – a sweater she doesn’t want anymore (since she bought a new one just like it without realizing), a scarf that she likes better on me than her, a lulu top she doesn’t really need… you know, all sorts of fun things!

But this morning my mom offered me a strange gift – a bar of chocolate soap. It took me a minute to realize that was not a bar of chocolate scented soap, but a bar of edible, semi-sweet, 28g of fat chocolate to be “used” in the shower.

um, why does my mom have this?

when i started to laugh and showed her the nutritional information listed on the back of the box it became clear that my mom didn’t realize what she had given me. so she took it back.

“i’ll give it to your father for valentine’s day.”

funny thing is, that didn’t gross me out since I know it’ll end up sandwiched between the bag of chocolate almonds and the container of icy squares in his “secret” junk cupboard. at least, i hope that’s where it ends up.

but now i’m hungry for chocolate… too bad the scarf of hers i’m wearing isn’t edible.

Thanks to Jeff for updating me on the Tsukiji situation that’s kept me awake since I reported it back in december. Tourists are no longer barred from the fish market in Tokyo! Hurray! So if any of you have been holding off on your japanese vacation because you were set on going to see the Tuna auctions, I wish you a safe trip. Have some maguro for me!

On Taste T.O., one of the blogs I follow, I read the following:

Thu, Jan 22, 2009
Cupcake Decorating Skills
Madeleines, Cherry Pie and Ice Cream, 1087 Bathurst Street
6:30 PM to 7:45 PM
$225 for 10-week course
A weekly class to learn cake decorating skills on cupcakes. Each week we will focus on different techniques from piping with different tips and icing to hand made leaves and flowers. The ten week program (Jan 22nd to Mar 26th) will give you new skills and delicious cupcakes to take home and share with family and friends. On the last class you will decorate a spring theme cake using the skills you have learned. The goal is to come together in a casual environment and share “quality time” while learning or improving on skills you already have (and may not know it!)
[more info]

Squee! That’s right by my house. And late enough that I could get there from work. And I LOVE cupcakes. What’s better than 1 night of cupcakes? 10 nights!

Which is exactly why I cannot sign up. Eating cupcakes every week [drool] is not a good idea. And even I can’t convince myself that I have the self-discipline to look but not touch – have you seen me around icing?! And Jenn on a sugar high isn’t fun for anyone – me included.

So I think I’ll leave this as one of those skills to acquire when I’m old and wise. Like Bridge and Golf.

But, sigh, think of the Hello Kitty Cupcakes I could make…

That’s right, Toronto is dark. There’s a power outage that’s been affecting something like 20,000 homes since 10:00 PM last night. And it happens to be the coldest night/day of the year with temperatures that are close to -20.

Lucky me, I’m in the affected area. On the plus side, I had a terrific night’s sleep. Since, once the lights were out, there was nothing else to do. I can’t remember the last time I got a solid 8 hours on a worknight.

On the minus side, there’s no power. Which means no heat (and a lot of other things).

This is really one of the first times that I’ve been incented to use Twitter – there are a gazillion people posting about the blackout. Things like updates, offers for free coffees to keep warm, and all sorts of goodness are coming through on the #darkto tag. We’re the #1 Trending Topic on Twitter search right now (probably cause I keep refreshing). There’s even a liveblog on torontoist!

One random comment – I thought it was hilarious this AM when 680 news talked about school closures due to the power outage and suggested checking the website. If I am affected by this problem and I have no power – do you think my internet is going to work? I suppose there are a few people that have BBeries/iPhones etc, but definitely appreciated that CBC got it and read the list over the air (not that I go to school, or have kids that go to school, but still).

Anyway, don’t worry about me. I have plenty of places to be with power – like work. So with that in mind I had better get to it.

Update: Interesting article on CBC about tweeting the blackout.

Update #2: Another interesting article about the tweets, this time from CityNews.ca

So the Schachters made it out of Toronto on one of the few flights that departed that day. Hurray!

And now it’s the start of another year. Here’s hoping it’s awesome, with very little snow.

tomorrow i leave on a plane.

maybe.

the radio is calling it snowmageddon.

i’m staying calm until i have reason to do otherwise. my dad is already in full on panic mode. we’ll have to wait and see what happens.