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Newcomer's Checklist

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Excitedly Anticipating, Anxiously Waiting
Apartment Hunting, Toronto (September 2004)

"Change has a considerable psychological impact on the human mind. To the fearful it is threatening because it means that things may get worse. To the hopeful it is encouraging because things may get better. To the confident it is inspiring because the challenge exists to make things better".

How fast we keep up with the changes in our lives determines how fast we want results to be seen. The determination separates those who wish to stay at the back from those who wish to move on. In 4 days we have made the following little steps:

Sunday:
o Day of Arrival
o First agenda of the day : thanksgiving Mass
o joy-ride to Downtown Toronto to familiarize with the terrain
o ocular of street names pre-determined from the Philippines for possible apartments
o visited Filipino restos (Remely's and Sino Pino) for pinoy take-out dinner
o bought Phone Cards to call home with
o had my first Tim Horton's Cafe mocha - the best!

Monday:
o Applied for Social Insurance Number (SIN) - the key to getting a job, a bank acct, an apartment, the numbered DNA that will determine your identity
o Visited HRDC for job openings
o Revised resume to look "Canadianized" - from 4 pages to at most 2.
o Visited Zellers to do some toiletries-shopping
o Met with 4 rental offices for apartments in downtown Toronto
o Tried the bus routes to downtown Mississauga
o Listed down companies around to determine which to send job applications
o Visited relatives and had a great reunion dinner

Tuesday:
o Visited The Future Shop, Krispy Kreme, Square One
o Opened a Checking Account
o Applied and approved for a Credit line
o Met with 3 rental offices for apartments in Mississauga
o Started to acclimatize with commuting around Toronto

Wednesday:
o Applied for a new phone
o Started revision of resume
o Started to call up friends around Toronto area

Thursday: (today)
o Wash day - done!
o Finalized resume
o Finalized phone - 2 phone lines for the price of one!
o Applied for Driver's license - exams next week!
o Submitted resume to workopolis.com - pray for it...

Sleep has been good. An average of 5 hours everyday. Weight is pretty decent. No added poundage yet despite the great cooking of our hosts. Skin is drying, especially with the changes in temperature from 20s to 24. Overall, life has changed but am enjoying it!

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