Getting ready for the move to Canada

Saturday, October 14th, 2006

With the move to Canada, I will need to also move my web and mail server. While I will make sure that my email server stays available all the time, I am expecting my web site, including this blog, to disconnect for a few weeks. I’ll make all I can to have it back online as quickly as possible.

If you have a hard time contacting me, try my Yahoo email address: gerard.metrailler[at]yahoo.com

Moving to Canada just in time for the Winter!

Wednesday, October 4th, 2006

Yes, big changes are in front of me. After almost 4 years in the UK, we will be moving west to live in Canada. And now that we have the visa in my pocket, I can make it public. I have accepted a new position at Corel and will be moving with my better half to Ottawa, ON in Canada early November… just in time for the winter :)
As time goes on, I’ll certainly continue the “Living in…” series, but with an Ontario view this time. I can already tell you that opening a bank account is almost as bad as it is in the UK, with the only advantage that you don’t need a utility bill to get started… but you start from scratch with the credit history :(
That’s it for now… flying back shortly to the UK to finish organizing the move.

Living in the UK - Part 2

Monday, August 28th, 2006

To follow-up on the previously posted Part 1, I’ve got a few extra things to add about living in this great country. In no specific order: the Aga, the movie theaters, the NHS and the weather (yes, I missed that one last time… how could I!). As previously, these are constructive comments or views from a surprised resident.
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Visiting the UK, Part IV and End - Heading South East

Monday, July 31st, 2006

2900 miles (about 4700 km) and over 1000 photos later, our two weeks tour of the UK is over! What a beautiful country. And the best part was that most of the places we did go were not packed with tourists. Coming down from Scotland (see my previous blog entry) on the East cost, we stopped many times on the way to visit York, Cambridge or Hastings, just to name a few places.
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Visiting the UK, Part III - Scotland

Thursday, July 27th, 2006

We finally arrived in Scotland. First things first, we either got very lucky, or the weather is a lot better than the reputation would make you think it is! Starting with the Lowlands, we found our ways on the West Highlands, then heading east and finally back down to the Borders region. And once again, for those who think about web services, universal Internet access through WiFi is not yet a reality in Scotland (and it’s the same as the rest of the UK we visited)… many regions don’t even have cell phone coverage!
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Visiting the UK, Part II - Heading North

Tuesday, July 25th, 2006

We’ve travelled almost 1000 miles through the UK since the last posting in my blog… What a beautiful country this is. As we don’t really have a pre-defined travel itinary, I won’t say we got lost many time or took many detours, but we did (this blog entry was written a few days before posting, but finding an Internet connection in the middle of the countryside in the UK while not really actively looking for it is not as easy as in London)
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Visiting the UK, Part I - Heading South West

Monday, July 17th, 2006

OK, here we go: Just left Maidenhead, Berkshire to go for a two week holiday tour of the UK (Marielle and I will stay on the same island, e.g. no Ireland this time around). After over three years living in this beautiful country, it is time to go and to see more than London and the Reading area. So far, we’ve headed south and west and are now in Cornwall.
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My “Best” travel experience (so far)

Sunday, February 19th, 2006

Well, if it has to happen, it has to happen all at once. I am certain Murphy’s law is very much applicable to my recent travel experience. But on the bright side, my luggage always showed-up.

As the law says: “if it can happen, it will happen”. I must have been pushing my luck for way to long as I rarely have major problems while travelling, except a few luggage delivery delays (never lost), which I avoid by having only carry-on most of the time. But now, travelling seems to catch up with a vengeance. My trip from London (UK) to Boston (USA) via Montreal (Canada) at the end of February 2006 has been an interesting experience that I would rather not repeat in the near future, to say the least.
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Hotel Wireless Internet - the feeling of being an ATM

Saturday, January 21st, 2006

I am a frequent business traveller and regularly use the high-speed Internet connection that is available in Hotel, either wired or wireless. The hotel I stays this week made me feel like an ATM… Interesting feeling!

So that’s what Cash Machines must feel, when the same customers goes back to get some money multiple times a day. Staying at a hotel in Holland for two nights last week, I pre-paid a 24 hours Wi-Fi Internet access for 24 hours at €15… or at least that is what I was expecting to pay.
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