Go back home

I am filling up at a gas station in a city just outside Toronto, but to the north. It's around 11 at night, and I am eager to get home. An older white lady is also standing nearby, filling up her pickup truck. She's the only other customer outside.

"Why don't you go back home?"

Huh? All of a sudden, I hear this. I can't believe my ears, so I turn to her.

"Excuse me?"

"Why don't you go back home?" She repeats in a louder voice.

I look around, and then reply, "Er, Toronto?"

"No, go back where you CAME FROM!"

"Um, Toronto?" I reply again. I am sort of enjoying this.

"No." She was now furious. "Go back where to your lot is!"

"Uh-huh, that would be Toronto."

She is now quite livid, and near shouting. "Why do you come to my home, and take MY job, and ... do you know after you guys came, where ALL the jobs went?"

I would have replied "Toronto" but then she had entered the truck, slammed her door and off she went.

It was my proper first brush with racism in Canada. I mean, I have heard it exists, and there are times when I have attributed behaviour to racism, but this was in your face. I was kind of glad I dealt with it in good humour and sarcasm. Perhaps the fact she was an old lady tempered it a bit. But then, why are older, rural folks more racist? I don't know.

For now, I was heading back to where I came from. Good ol' Toronto.

a_bong is born

Yes, I do have a lot to say (waiting for the weekend to pen some posts), but for the moment, I have news.

I have given in.

a_bong

Yes, you can now follow me on twitter at http://twitter.com/a_bong.

Fall 2009 Photography

Leaf peeping is an autumn activity in areas where foliage changes colors. Leaf peepers are those who participate in photographing and viewing the fall foliage.

Like everyone who immigrates to Canada from the warmer climates waits for their first glimpse of snow, I too awaited the arrival of winter ever since I landed in Canada. However, I was caught unaware by the magnificence that is Fall. The colours change beautifully, the whole forest turns a brilliant hue of orange, yellow and red, and if you happen to fly above the forest you would think it had caught on fire!

I didn't happen to go out much this year for Fall photography due to various commitments, but did happen to have my camera with me for a couple of snaps while I waited for the wife near my workplace. I plan to do some more tomorrow, so perhaps this post will be updated.

A fallen leaf on the pavement really starts to symbolize in Canada that winter is not far away!

Here's some pictures from 2005.

Thanksgiving Dinner

Thanksgiving Day is a North American tradition. In olden days, it was a time to give thanks for the harvest and express gratitude in general. Today, it is a holiday celebrated primarily in the United States and Canada. Families gather together, a large bird (turkey) is cooked, and it's a holiday for family reunions and joy.

Our Thanksgiving in Canada occurs much earlier than the US one. This year it was on the 12th of October. When we first moved here, it was very difficult to find a halal turkey. Either you had to go to a farm and slaughter one yourself, or you had to go to the Jewish corner to get a kosher turkey. Soon, it started to appear at select No Frills and Food Basic stores. Now it's very commonly available, and many halal meat stores have it. So our job of procuring a halal turkey has gotten much easier.

Last year, we got freshly slaughtered turkey delivered from the farm, and it was cooked immediately, and was really yummy. This year, the farm wasn't delivering to our area, so we got one from the store.

You have to let the turkey thaw on its own. Ours was a 13 lb turkey, so it took a day to thaw!

The next job is to thoroughly clean the turkey.

After it's washed, the turkey will be marinated with various stuff, and then placed in the oven.

While it's being cooked (takes 2-3 hours), one prepares other types of feast (after all, you need to show you have a LOT to be thankful for!).

So I tried my hand at making pizza.

It turned out somewhat round!



I also had some dough and toppings left over, so that made the 'left over' pizza!



This was how that turned out.

Of course, the evening is not complete without some dessert! We made muffins.

Meanwhile, as all this is being done and family members gather around the dinner table, our turkey is now done.

Too bad it was devoured before we thought of taking its picture!