Saturday, September 29, 2007

Close the Door Behind You

So here we are. Today is moving day.
Last night, my father helped me to move a couch (of the fold-out, really heavy variety) from a cousin's garage into the apartment. He's a real trooper. Lots of heavy lifting and the closest he came to complaining was saying, "sometimes it's better to just pay someone 50 bucks to do it for you." I didn't think there was much point in mentioning that it would probably cost more like $200. I just assured him that this was the heaviest piece and that tomorrow (today) my younger brother promised to help and that everything would be lighter.
As for tonight, the bed remains the same, but the roof changes. The walls will be different. The view, until now from below, will be from above. Far, far above. Looking down on Mount Pleasant from the 20th floor.
There are, of course, other things of note; Tonight we go and pay our respects to Jeremiah, as he prepares to embark on the longest journey of his life - spending two years with his Colombian bride in Bogota. If we still have any energy afterwards, we may even check out Nuit Blanche.
A few sports notes to finalize this blog: The baseball season is almost over and it's second season is nearly upon us. The AL is set, beyond seeing who plays who. The National league, on the other hand, only just found out who the first two entrants would be last night, with the Cubs and then the Diamondbacks clinching their places. As for the other two slots, I would personally prefer to see the Phillies and the Rockies make it, but Phillies and Padres would be fine as well.
Cubs over the Indians in the World Series? That would be fun, eh?
Finally, the NHL regular season starts tonight with the European schedule. With one door closing, another one should be opening.

Have a great weekend,

Ryan

Sunday, September 23, 2007

Turning of the Screw

Are my energies flagging? Last week was a short post, and this week promises a repeat performance.
It could be that three months under my parents' roof has drained my creative juice. It could be that the desire to excel at my new job has diverted my other driving forces. I think both share in the truth.
I am starting to feel more comfortable in the office. It is definitely a different setup from what I was used to in Israel, but I will succeed in what I was hired to do. I will.
Maya and I got the apartment. We move next weekend. We still have to go in and sign the lease, but that is a matter of formality more than anything else.
We have secured a good portion of our future furniture, only lacking a kitchen set (table, 4 chairs) and some plates, bowls...
We do need to buy electronics, however. We're looking into getting a new PC. Although the cost is a little bit more prohibitive, we have been seriously considering joining the I-revolution and buying a Mac. If anybody out there reading this has any first hand knowledge and can provide me with a valid comparison, please do so. Soon.

In other news, hockey pooling is under way again. The baseball (regular) is winding down and the first true face-off is almost here. I had my Yahoo draft today - my star attraction is Joe Thornton - and I have promised to join my good friend, Rafi, in a pool of his own design and to help out at the draft of another. My mind is already gearing towards rethinking hockey value forming statistics.

I guess that's all for now.
I am still,

Ryan

Sunday, September 16, 2007

A Few Days Off

Not much to report for now, really. As Rosh Hashana just passed, I had two days off from work. In most circumstances, that would be a good thing. But for now, when I am really trying to get myself adjusted to my new workplace, the timing is bad. I think (I hope) I had a breakthrough on Wednesday, but I won't find out 'til tomorrow.

The baseball season is winding down and the hockey season is getting ready to start. I really would love to find a challenging group of fantasy players to do a pool with. I really miss that stuff. And I would love to put my working theories to the test.

Before I sign off, I should say that Maya and I will find out if we have the apartment by Wednesday. Wish us luck.

I remain,

Ryan

Sunday, September 9, 2007

A New Schedule

My re-acclimation continues in full swing.
Some of you may have wondered as to the cause of my recent absence.
Is no news always good news? No, but in this case, it mostly was.

My job search has reached fruition and I have been working as a Proposal Development Manager for four days now. Tomorrow marks day five. It is with an IT company (they'll remain nameless for the purposes of this blog) and the office is located in the heart of Toronto's financial district.
Very exciting stuff.
Just about two weeks ago, I responded to an ad on Craigslist for the position and within 2 hours, the Senior Project manager of the company called me. We spoke for half an hour or so and arranged to meet formally on the upcoming Monday for an interview. The interview went well, both the oral aspect and the written test. On Wednesday, he called me back to offer me the position and last Tuesday I began.

Which all leads to help explain my new blogging schedule. As work will keep me a lot more busy than my previous commitments in keeping track of baseball statistical analysis could, I will not be able to blog as frequently as I sometimes did. I will make strenuous efforts to write at least once a week from here on out.

This week brings us to the Jewish New Year. To those of you who are so inclined, I wish you a very happy and healthy Shana Tova!
This is a great time to look back on the last 12 months. I experienced great joys (my marriage - however legal, returning home to Toronto, a new job, good memories), some deep sorrows (the loss of my grandmother a few weeks ago, and the recent news of the much-too-young passing of my mother's cousin Robynne Neugebauer, as well as the bitter-sweetness of leaving my other home, Tel Aviv) and now look forward to continuing the challenges that await me in the upcoming year (full adjustment to our new life- we're already searching for our own apartment, planning a more festive and traditional wedding celebration, who knows what else.)

To those of you who have grown accustomed to seeing me on MSN or on Yahoo frequently, I must apologize as I no longer frequent those netwaves. I'll log in once in a while from home, but I stay away during regular work hours. I'll try to stay in touch through this channel, and I'm sure you can manage to find a way to reciprocate.

Until then, I remain yours,

Ryan