Banking is Boring

Boy, how does one keep interest in a blog about banking, buying a new phone, applying for Social Insurance Numbers, and shopping for groceries? One doesn't, unless one lies, or at least stretches the truth. And that's just what I intend to do. 

We started our day at TD Canada Trust, setting up our accounts. We were helped by Tommy Qu, who's lived in Canada since 2003. He's originally from Qing Dao. He was especially helpful when I spoke a little Mandarin with him. Setting up our accounts was much like I imagine it must have been in the States fifty years ago, before the free fall from regulation that made our banks seem more like pay-day lenders than serious institutions. Tommy was thorough in the extreme, and very helpful. We spent two hours with him. Two hours! Then we were all robbed at gunpoint by men in Smurf® costumes.

After the banking incident, we bought our new phone from Fido (at Tommy's recommendation). I tried to take a picture of the escaping Smurfs®, but I couldn't figure out how to use the camera.

Then it was off to Broadway and the Shao Lin Noodle House 少林麵莊, where they specialize in "Making noodles by hands", that is until some English-speaking twit corrected them; now they're made by hand. BORING. We split a plate of cutting noodles with veggies and tofu, and a plate of scallion pancakes. We could have eaten dinner with the leftovers. As it turns out, a crazed elderly Chinese grabbed the plate off our table and threw it across the room while doing some fancy Jackie Chan back flips out the door.

After lunch, we headed over to 10th and Main to this Service Canada Centre (affectionately known as Building 5910). Here we endured some very polite and professional socialists who were very concerned that we kept our new SINs secure, and properly applied for our socialist health care and just generally seemed to care and have compassion. That's so socialist.

After lunch, we walked down to Granville Island for a little grocery shopping at the public market. 

It was a cluster-duck of tourists and we couldn't wait to get the hell out of there. It was a lovely stroll down, though.

Finally, we retired to our abode, for a little dinner and refreshment. That's when the Earthquake struck. Thanks a lot, Mark and Judy!