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Spring Is Here, And It Is Beautiful.

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At a beach in Mississauga. A visitor sneaked up on us as my son and I were building sand castle.  The only predictable thing about weather in Canada is its unpredictability. Monday was a beautiful day as Sun was out in full glory. We went to a beach, built sand castles, and played in lake water. Water was cold, though. As soon as we stepped out of Lake water, the sun felt good on wet feet and legs. Overall, it was a good day to spend time out in the open. Sun on the beach felt good on bare arms and legs. Beach in Mississauga. On Monday, clouds returned and brought rain with them. There was a chill in the air. It remained foggy until 3 PM. Though jackets came off in the afternoon, the sun was elusive. And today, it is a glorious day. It feels like a summer day with sun in its full glory and not a hint of clouds in the sky. With the onset of the spring, the harbor has become the mosaic of boats. It is common to see people kayaking, canoeing or paddling. A s
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The Drudgery of Barber’s Chair

Barber’s chair is my second least favorite place to sit. If you’re interested to know, chair of a dentist is the one I dread most.  My despise of barber’s chair is because when it comes to hair, I have too few on my head that I do not need to do anything special for them. I especially don’t need any fancy barber to take care of them. After every few months, my side hair starts growing in all directions, and that’s the time to pay a visit to my barber.  For me, choosing a barber is the most challenging thing as I look for three qualities in him or her.  1) He should not up-sell or cross-sell any services as I have no inclination to use them. I could never wrap my head around facial, manicure, pedicure or head massage. When a barber starts pushing such services to me, I know it is time to look for a new barber. 2) I always appreciate an efficient barber who clips my dancing side hair in no time. Services of barber are always unjustifiably thrusted upon me by God by givi
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Struggles of immigrants - 2

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The weather is not playing straight. We had sunny days for a couple of weeks with temperatures going as high as 8 degrees in the afternoon. As we packed our snow jacket, boots and gloves, the snow flurries returned with high-speed winds. With temperatures hovering around zero degrees, we unpacked our snow gear in the spring! Sunrise at Port Credit. During sunny days, my runs are a regular fixture. I usually start running from my block and end up at the Lake Shore. If I am able to drag myself out of the bed before dawn, I witness a glorious sunrise spreading orange hues on the horizon. If day is cloudy, I do a lap around the harbour, hear seagulls singing, get a dose of morning caffeine from a nearby Starbucks and take a bus home. Simple pleasures of life to indulge in. As a freelancer, I have meetings to attend. Most of these meetings are in Toronto. A Go train leaves for Union Station at regular intervals from a station near to my place and it is my preferred mode of t
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In books, we trust!

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    March activities in the library       It was March break for kids and local library organised some sessions for kids. Library is not only for adults but fun for kids too. There’s always something going on for them. For the first time, I have seen libraries occupied and people sitting, reading and working earnestly on their laptops. As a freelancer, I usually dig for a place which offers WiFi, comfy seats and an opportunity for serendipitous encounters. And libraries in Canada provide all three in abundance. They serve as my de facto workspace. I occasionally bring my son here and he joyfully explores kids section while I fire away my reports from my laptop.  In one such encounter, I met a guy from Syria. He shared his experience which was quite unique to Canada.  “I grew up in Syria and was not allowed to read books. My first exposure to non-fiction books was in my college. And I started reading management books. Then I moved to Dubai and I continued readi
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A Student's Life in Canada

It is five minutes to nine in the night. It is dark and temperatures are frigid. Gary is standing outside an apparel store and he has his coffee to give him company. He is waiting for his shift to start. He works part-time with a company which does inventory for retail stores. Most of his shifts are either in the night after store is closed for customers or on the weekends. He is a student in Canada studying in a Brampton college  that’s known as College of Desis (locals from Punjab, Northern India) amongst Indians. As a student in Canada, he can work officially for 20 hours per week. However, in that time frame he does not earn much to cover his expenses that he is loaded with.  He lives in a rented basement in Northern Brampton. He pays about $500 for that basement and has promised the owner to help with some chores. He cleans the snow from driveway during winters. He rakes leaves during fall. And doing such tasks is helping in keeping his rent low. His semester fees are arou
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Struggles of Immigrants in Canada

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  Canada is an amazing place and it brings its own challenges.   In my quest to understand Canada better, I tend to meet people from different walks of life and try to understand their perspective of Canada. As I am living in Greater Toronto Area, I encounter numerous immigrants regularly. All of them have come from different countries and cultures and they had their fair share of struggles in the past. And many of them continue to face challenges in their new home country. While browsing in a library, I had a chance encounter with a lady from Krygisitan who landed in Canada nearly three years back. In her school, she learned two languages - Kyrgyz and Persian. She never had a chance of forming a complete sentence in English for first 20-odd years of her life. To get away from a place where the government never delivered, never provided basic necessities and never enforced the rule of law, she moved to Canada with her family. However, upon landing here, she faced differ
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Niagara-on-the-Lake

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    Snow covered beach is a treat to eyes.     Note: Niagara-on-the-Lake is known for its wineries. But on this visit, wineries were not on my list. There are two reasons for it. The first one is that I do not drink as alcohol and my taste buds never agreed with each other. And, second, this was a get-to-know-the-town kind of a trip. Once you leave the Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW), drive towards Niagara-on-the-Lake is picturesque. My friends had recommended many things/activities for the place but this being my first trip to the pretty town, I am sure many good things were missed. I will come back to enjoy it more. Pitstop: I stopped at A&W. My five year old is BFF with french fries so when I spotted A&W, I knew it was time for a break. Drive: Like I said, as soon as you exit the QEW, the drive is scenic and breathtaking. Miles long rolling fields laden with grape vines as far as eyes could see, with few wineries. As I travelled during winte
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