"sorry...not in service"

so, torontonians, or canadians in general, i find to be very polite. car horns are virtually unused, people say "excuse me" and "please", hold doors open for you, wave you through when you're trying to make a left turn, stop at yellow lights, and are just generally more relaxed and willing to go that extra courteous mile. the final kicker which made me crack up was when i was waiting to transfer for the bus yesterday at kipling station and saw a bus passing by with "sorry...not in service" scrolling on the marquise. i just had to laugh! could you imagine the MTA, or anyone in new york, for that matter, apologize for even remotely inconvenincing its patrons??? gotta love those canadians!

so my ontario drivers license arrived in the mail, as did mine and cookie's health cards (our benefits officially kick in on february 11). we also got a call from immigration canada saying that cookie's paperwork for dual citizenship has now been completed and we're just waiting for her certificate to arrive in the mail. and finally, finally, finally, after all the fiasco and other nonsense that's just too complicated to get into, our car has passed federal and provincial inspection and is elegible for ontario plates.

cookie has been driving me insane, clinging to me like crazy and not letting me go or do anything without her. it was a struggle to even grab a few minutes to even jot this measly post down without her hanging on my pants leg or trying to climb into my lap! i guess i should enjoy it while it lasts, in a few years when she has a life and can't stand me, i'll remember these years and miss them. but man, it's impossible to get anything done at the moment! right now, she's stuffing post-it notes down her shirt. it's a step up from what she was doing before, putting the microphone in her mouth and biting it, and at least she's being quiet. and to think i want to have more in the near future! god help us all!!! i really can't complain, she's a terriffic kid and i love her to pieces. but i guess all parents have moments like this. you never know the true meaning of "sacrifice" until you have a kid.

and at long last, here are the answers to the great canadian trivia game!
a chesterfield is a sofa.
pop is soda, or "carbonated beverage" as canuck loves to call it
zed is canadian for the letter "z" (i say "zee")
a toque (pronounced "tuke") is a hat, a regular one that you wear in the cold, not a fancy schmancy one like a fedora or beret!
the converter is the remote control
and poutine (pronounced "pootinn") is a french fried dish covered in gravy and cheese curds, popular in quebec but seen around here as well

and only one highway spans the entire length of canada, of course, it's called the trans-canadian highway and it's name changes from province to province. in ontario, it's called the 401 (not sure about the other provinces).