One of those days

Do you know this feeling when you are so proud and happy with yourself? I just had one of such moments where I want to stand in front of the mirror and say "Who is the smart girl? Look at yourself - you are such a smart girl!" Although, in general I am really critical about the abilities of my mind :)

Take it easy

I like people who see life as an adventure – they mostly improvise and do not spend much time planning. One of my beliefs about life is that it pays you back – when you say life sucks, it eventually does. But when you keep smiling through hardships, a ray of sun appears in the darkness.

I always smile when I see people trying to “keep their lives under control”. They remind me of the boy I met on the train ride in an amusement park. He took the seat on the “loco” and was turning the steering wheel announcing that he was actually driving the train. The right approach to life is to relax and enjoy the ride :)

Drive test route in Kitchener, ON

Tomorrow I am going to the drive test to get my G Full license. I mixed up the appointment time and was left without a training from the local instructor. Main use of instructors is to see and get to know the route. So that you know speed limits, signs, lights etc. I tried to find the route description on the Web instead. Seems like there is a conspiracy of instructors of some kind – there is no detailed description of the route anywhere. The only thing I could find was the number of Highway – 7 – they take you to during the test. No more.

My friend who took the test about a year ago provided more details – I am going to drive that route couple of times tonight: Ottawa Street from Drive Centre (1405) left to Highway 7 – exit at Victoria Street – Bruce Street – Frederick Street – Edna Street – back to the Highway 7, exit at Ottawa Street – turn right into some residential area – go around, do some of the exercises – parallel parking, three-point turn, emergency stop – return to the Drive Centre – park there.

I will share more details and write a full report tomorrow – no matter how I do in the test!

Vacation plans

I’ve heard that one becomes a real Canadian when one starts planning their vacation long ahead and that is the biggest challenge of the year. Seems like we are getting there. At least we started planning our mid-August vacation now – which is well ahead to me and it is a real challenge to put those plans together.

Our current plan is a big and costly one – going to Italy on a tour that includes Rome, Siena, Napoli, Pompeii, Florence, Pisa, Genoa, Milan, and Venice. We have 12 days for the trip booked in our calendars. Now we are trying to figure out the least expensive option of fulfilling it – that is quite a challenge I must say, but a pleasant and exciting one so far.

I miss Italy badly since I went there once when I was 15 or so. It’s one of the several places I want to come back to – one, where a part of my soul was left behind and the rest of it yearns for reunion ever since.