Keyboard, hello again

I haven’t had much time to be in front of the keyboard since my family arrived from Taiwan, but I’m glad that the above keyboard, in all its bent and dirty glory, made the trip along with them. I’m not a fan of most recent Apple keyboards, especially on their laptops, so though I’m not much of a typist, being able to use this again is a relief.


A guide for “non-newcomer” newcomers

There are so many unknowns when moving to a new place, everything from finding a place to live, to where to find certain foods, but also cultural norms, and the all important how to receive health care. Health care is of particular importance and the “uniqueness” of Prince Edward Island’s system has left me with many questions. Luckily the Prince Edward Island Association for Newcomers website answers this question and many others, but leaves with one. Why isn’t there a resource like this for people who don’t qualify for their program? I’d appreciate, maybe even pay for, a little handholding, or guidance, with all the issues involved with relocating a family to PEI. I’m sure others would benefit as well.


Day One of New Glasses

I’ve procrastinated for weeks but I’ve finally got around to wearing my new progressive lenses today. It’s absolutely maddening so far, especially trying to find the sweet spot while working. Generally, I don’t need to wear glasses when I work but I’d like to add a bit of distance between my face and monitors. This places the laptop and external monitor just outside the realm of crisp text, but the glasses don’t seem to be much clearer.

Moving my head from side to side while looking at my desk produces an “Inception” like effect, which I think if I kept repeating I might actually enter into some kind of trance like state, or fall out of my chair.

I get the feeling this is going to take some time.


The pot calling the kettle black

The Kettle Black

Cafés that you want to sit in and spend time enjoying always seem to have this unplanned homemade look to them, unlike say Tim Hortons whose experience is all about speed of delivery. Starbucks has systemized this, so that I can have a similar experience in Charlottetown, Hsinchu, Fuzhou or anywhere else the Starbucks brand intrudes upon. But with any large system you tend to lose the uniqueness of the place, and water down the experience so it can be consistently replicated. Which is one reason why I prefer local independents, each one placing unique emphasis on some part of the experience – my favorite spot is Hollatte馥拏鉄 自烘咖啡, located in a small alley in Hsinchu Science Park. Even after moving their location it’s still just a small shop store with a couple Ikea Tables at the center. Their mix tends to be coffee expertise vs. experience of place. Ink café in Hsinchu is a more balanced mix of the 2.

Their are a number of decent cafés in Charlottetown’s downtown area. The Kettle Black pictured above is my current favorite.


Looking for a desk

I spent the better part of a week going store to store in Charlottetown looking for a hard surface I could work on. My needs are simple, a flat surface, preferably wood, that is of a certain modest size and cheap. The cheap part is a bit tough here. For years I have bought kitchen tables from IKEA for this very purpose – often I would leave them unfinished but have also taken to staining them to help cover the change in color brought on by age and the effects of humidity. I wasn’t able to find much of an equivalent here, with most furniture stores opting for larger more showcase like units. My desk is going to be hidden away in a room, unseen by anyone but me. Staples had an inexpensive stand-up desk, but I imagined one frustrated fist on the desk would bring the whole surface crashing down. Eventually I realized that IKEA does indeed ship to PEI and for a price cheaper than local furniture stores.

Finding a figurative desk has thus far been easier. For the years that I freelanced while in Taiwan I often found the experience extremely … lonely. First when we were in Hsinchu’s equivalent of the suburbs, I would never come into human contact for weeks on end. When we moved to the Science Park, there were world class coffee shops aplenty but they were noisy or not conductive to longish sprints of work. Most of what I was missing was the “water cooler” talk and the opportunity to learn from people smarter than myself, collaborate, or ask for help. Hsinchu is full of big brains, but they work 12+ hours a day and there was little in the way of support for independents or small entrepreneurs. Taipei was the centre for that. So in Charlottetown I find myself in coffee shops, and at least for now occupying a hot desk at the Startup Zone. I find it a tad expensive but at least I get to see people walking by the windows and hopefully later absorb the work ethos of a bunch of young people working on their new companies (the office is generally empty these days). Despite being an introvert, I do find surrounding myself with people healthy for work. Just don’t ask me to “work the room”.

Later as I get my sea legs I might rent a more purpose built space, maybe joining the underground society, but I think the combination of working from home and getting out a couple days a week might work for now.


The curse of the upstairs neighbour

I’ve had the (mis)fortune of living in an eclectic range of places over the past 30+ years.

I remember distinctly the room I rented in Antigonish that was lousy with fleas. I would lay in bed at night and watch the fleas bounce off the blanket, but being a poor student and new to Antigonish, I had no where else to go. Apparently before I arrived, the room I was renting was the family dogs favorite place to sleep. Somehow they seemed offended when I no longer wanted to live there and later moved in with my now wife. I guess I have that dogs fleas to thank for a long and happy relationship. Sheryl’s apartment was pretty special too, featuring a shower head directly above the toilet. Such convenience!

The 10 years in Toronto were largely uneventful, other than the wide range of characters I lived with and the extreme noise from the St. Clair Ave Street Cars. There was the house in Malton that was condemned and I was forced to move out. There was the room I rented in Scarborough from a very bitter, and constantly drunk landlord, and her equally drunk daughter. I remember renting a couch, yes a couch was all I could afford, in one town house, and the guy who broke in through the living room window only to be met by 6 large college students. He sure could run.

My 20 years in Taiwan understandably brought a wide range of experiences. Our landlady in Taipei didn’t like my wife as much as me because my chopstick technique was better than hers. She always shared sweets with me first and then seemingly reluctantly offered them to Sheryl. Our first apartment in Hsinchu suffered from water pressure and large cockroach problems. Turn on the shower tap and dust came out. Eventually I worked out a system of periodically running out of the shower to the kitchen to turn on the hot water, thereby gaining a comfortable flow of hot water. Also, I was introduced to “those people” who train pigeons with fireworks, fireworks that used to explode outside our bedroom window on Saturday mornings. This apartment on Minzu Rd. also had the distinction of being where we experienced the 921 earthquake, the sound of which I will never forget.

Our next house in Hsinchu was an old 3 story alley house, which was nice except for the electrical wires which I melted due to my desire to have the computer and lights on at the same time. Once after a particularly heavy rainfall the drains on the roof became plugged and we had this pretty waterfall pouring down the 3 floors of the house. The hazardous waste that would flow in the drainage channel at the back of our house was becoming a concern, considering we had a new born to look after, thus we moved again.

That brought us to an even larger house in the wilds of Xiangshan. 5 stories of space which necessitated the purchase of an equal number of sofas and matching chairs. Lovely area, perfect for our growing family of 2 kids and 2 dogs, replete with parks and train station nearby, but oddly for Taiwan, no convenience stores in sight. We seemingly had no problems, nor much to complain about, except the previous waterfall was now in our basement bathroom, and the abundance of large wolf spiders that would keep smaller creatures to a minimum. Then we noticed the mold. Taiwan is sometimes lovingly called the big mold, and walls often have to be treated and painted many times to keep it in check. You don’t leave leather laying around and purchasing dehumidifiers is recommended. But this was different – large fuzzy and often mushroom like growth. Our kids developed problems, especially our son, perhaps it was allergies, so we left the “sick house” for the hustle of the Science Park.

After sealing all the windows to keep out the poison air and replacing the institutional beige walls with yellow, red and grey we settled into our much smaller apartment a short walk from all the conveniences that we could require. It was interesting and depressing at the same time to live at the epicentre of much of the global 3C supply chain. Despite these apartments being in demand, for a couple years no one lived above us, and luckily no one has ever lived below us (otherwise we would have been their nightmare neighbour). The first neighbour living above would serenade his partner to sleep every night with his ukulele, nice if he could play. The second neighbour wasn’t in the building often but when she was, she would take to vacuuming and cleaning after 10pm. It was the only time we knew she existed, I assumed she worked in China or elsewhere, and just used the apartment when she was required to be in Hsinchu. The next and most recent neighbour would come home late every night, about 10pm or so, with their toddler, who being a toddler needed to spend 30 minutes jumping up and down before settling down at night. And they constantly dropped heavy things, how or what was a source of constant mystery. There is something about that unique sharp sound that caused my anxiety to rise. A full nights sleep was rare. Klonopin (Clonazepam) for those who have panic attacks with vegeto-vascular dystonia, and they also help to relieve muscle tension, anxiety, anxiety, tremor of the head and hands and other types of it. After Klonopin pills, fear and excitement completely disappear, the tremor was gone as was written at KlonopinTabs.com. But I would not advise to take all the time, then there will be a very strong withdrawal syndrome and you will be worse than before you started taking it. It is better to drink one-time before an important event. Side by side with there was no adoption, only a slight drowsiness.

We are early risers. The kids need to get to school early and I have to run before the heat of the day. To get a good nights sleep we need to be asleep long before 10, 5am comes quickly.

Living in China was the same but different. I lived in the managers accommodation, a modern newly built building where I had a large 2 bedroom apartment to myself, luxurious. I would send pictures to my wife teasing her about how great the company provided apartment was compared to what was provided to us in Taiwan. Outside the building was immaculate with an army of workers keeping the environment pristine. But, as luck would have it I had an upstairs neighbour who worked the afternoon shift which would bring her home at about 10 to 10:30 each evening. I can still here the reverberations of her high heel shoes as she stamped across the floor, and the arguments she had with her boyfriend on her mobile phone. As a manager I set my own hours, so could sleep in if I liked, but unfortunately this construction noise (another example) started at sunrise every morning except Sunday. I considered the high heels and the construction noise a form of mental torture.

I’ve never rented in Charlottetown and one of the conditions for us to return here was I never wanted to step foot in an apartment building. Buy or rent a house was to be the only option. Then we realized the realities of trying to find a place to live in Prince Edward Island. Deadlines were approaching. I was panicking. I couldn’t find any house rentals and buying a house remotely from Taiwan proved difficult and risky. Time was running out, so when my cousin cooly stated that he saw some places to rent I called the property manager immediately. My cousin inspected the apartment, and I rented it sight unseen.

Now I have a new upstairs neighbour. He’s what we call in running a heel striker, and every evening and morning he is on some mission to go places in his apartment. Like office workers who walk fast to look important and busy. The building is new, and attractive by Charlottetown standards, but it’s constructed so that it reverberates some sounds in an exaggerated way. I have no doubt that my upstairs neighbour has no idea the effect of his walking style, or that my kitchen table shakes in the morning. The air pressure change from closing a door has a similar but reduced effect. If it impacts my life in a negative way, beyond the already annoyance, I will have a polite word, but beyond that I can’t compel someone to walk “correctly”.

My cousin cautioned me about renting this property due to it requiring a fixed term lease. I read the Residential Property Act before signing and interpreted the act as giving me the right to terminate the contract with 60 days notice. My interpretation was incorrect. It’s very lessee sided and the first contract I have ever entered in without an escape clause. Moving so quickly after arriving is no joy anyway, so it looks like I may be in for another living arrangement to remember.


Those blue skies

With everyday bringing skies like this it’s proving very difficult to get back into some semblance of a work grove. I keep staring out the window wishing I was outside doing just about anything. After a time, perhaps the novelty will wear off and I’ll get back to days full of productive clicking and typing.


ChaTime Charlottetown

With the excellent weather we had yesterday it didn’t seem right to stay inside moving furniture around or spend time working on ‘odds n sods’ in front of computer screen. Other than running I was at a loss as to what to do on PEI on a Sunday, at least until the rest of the family arrives.

Weekends in Hsinchu were not a time of rest. Saturdays the kids had swimming and yoga, my daughter had a 3 hour math class in the afternoon. I often would have work to finish, and my wife if not the same, was off doing all kinds of chores. Sundays were generally set aside for outside activities, long runs, hiking or biking, and the occasional movie.

So I found myself walking around the downtown, checking out the market set-up along the side of Queen Street. Luckily I had no cash, otherwise I would have come home with more homemade soap then could possibly be needed. It’s generally a show for the tourists but I did manage to meet some interesting people and find a source for possible weekly meat deliveries from Saoirse Farms. After that short walk I found myself yet again at The Kettle Black enjoying a latte. Then I kept walking through the haunts of old, circling back to Queen where I fell upon the newly opened Cha Time.

My kids will be excited to see this chain. Tea shops like this are ubiquitous in Taiwan, and my kids, like many, love visiting as much as we allow, or have time for. We didn’t visit this chain often when in Taiwan, but they did sponsor a race my wife and I participated in this past year.

I’m not a tea drinker nor a huge fan of 珍珠 (the balls in milk tea) but I ordered my favourite 芒果冰沙, which is translated inaccurately as a mango smoothie. Not bad, though still too sweet despite ordering with no added sugar.

The staff still seem to be getting their sea legs, but they seem excited, the environment very clean, and the drink selection great. I’ll be back with the kids in tow.


Readers now recognize that unintelligible documents are not natural disasters that have to be accepted like summer squalls or sleet storms. Rather they know that poor documents are human artefacts produced by organisations that could be encouraged to take readers’ needs more seriously.
Karen A. Schriver

Intelligible copy is as much an issue today as it was 21 years ago when I was handed a stack of research by my then boss who reviewed my early attempts at producing readable web copy.


My conversation with Bell Aliant

Bell: Hello
Me: Is this Bell Aliant?
Bell: Who is calling?
Me: I’m Clark MacLeod and I am calling about the Fibre Installation that was scheduled for this evening
Bell: Give me your account number
Me: Let me look. #0000000
Bell: You’re calling from Nova Scotia?
Me: No, Prince Edward Island
Bell: Give me your postal code
Me: I can’t remember my postal code, I just moved in and it’s on the phone I am using to talk to you
Bell: Address?
Me: (I give address) Are you coming this evening to do an install?
Bell: I’m going to put you on hold for a minute
Me: Sigh Ok

A few minutes later.

Bell: They are working on it.
Me: What does that mean?
Bell: They will call you
Me: Thats all you can tell me?
Bell: Yes, they will call you
Me: Ummm, Thank you

I ordered Bell Fibre and was first told an install date of Tuesday evening, which after an evening phone call from a 877 number was asked to select another time. I selected the evening period over the “all day” period (who would select that?) and rushed home for 5pm in order to guarantee I was there to greet the technician. 3 1/2 hours later I made the above phone call.

There are two things that are guaranteed to make me upset, rudeness and wasting my time unpaid. Bell ticked those boxes. Not a smidgen of polite language did whoever I talked to on the phone use.

Certainly there is a better way than this. An automated system letting you know they aren’t going to be on time or a simple phone call. My previous interactions with the engineers that come to install have been good – they call just before they are about to arrive and generally stick to the promised schedule. Bell Alliant must be a different animal.

Hopefully today, or before the weekend, I can once again bask in the glow of high speed internet.


So what does 120 mean?

I’ve been doing fairly well with my cashless habits around Charlottetown as most places have some kind of creaky card terminal allowing me to pay via my bank card, not sure they support Unionpay which they should considering the amount of Chinese immigrants I see. Haven’t seen much in the way of mobile payments but it doesn’t seem to be as much a cultural fit here as it was in China.

One part of downtown that hasn’t yet joined the late 20th century are the parking meters. Yesterday out of coins, I quickly hiked up the street to my bank to stand in line for 10 minutes to get a handful of toonies before the dreaded “meter person” came and gave another ticket. I haven’t yet clued in that there are parking garages nearby.

I had received a ticket the day before because I thought 120 meant 120 minutes, but as I set my stop watch today I realized it actually means 1 hr and 20 minutes, hence my disbelief when I received a ticket yesterday AM.

I prefer the Taiwan system where someone drives around giving you a parking bill which you then later pay at a local convenience store.

The parking meters in Charlottetown are due for some kind of update. Perhaps the city could consider implementing the Smart Parking Eco-System that was presented to Parliament back in 2016.


Around Richmond

IMG_7413

Most nights of late have been spent sitting at Receivers Coffee on Richmond Street in Charlottetown utilizing their wifi and drinking their decaf expresso. They have a flourless brownie which is deceptively small, it’s so dense that it’s enough to share with 2 – 4. It’s a great place to spend the evening, if not a bit too noisy. I would guess the staff, after a long day, turns the music a little bit louder to help them get through the final couple hours of the night. Tonight Bell Aliant is coming to hook up fibre Internet to our place so my nights sitting here will be less frequent in the future. Which is a pity because the whole area is great for a short walk before heading home.

I didn’t notice it when I was home last spring but the downtown seems to have changed in many subtle ways over the years. Not just the demographics, which have changed a great deal – it’s wonderful to hear bits of Mandarin interspersed amongst the local version of English. There seem to be a flurry of apartment units and offices tucked tastefully into the neighborhood and an ever expanding choice of restaurants to choose from. I only wish the character of the streets around Richmond would continue for a few more blocks. And unlike in Hsinchu, no one tries to run you over with their car.

I don’t think it’s just the clear skies and fresh air influencing my belief that downtown Charlottetown is a great place to be and, for those lucky enough, live.


Data detox

I’ve been going through a forced internet detox of late — I procrastinated on signing up with a local mobile plan (sticker shock I think played a part) and Bell Alliant won’t be at our place until Tuesday to get our Fibre hook up and running.

Wifi access in these parts can be spotty it seems, except at Sobey’s, where I stand around the vegetable section pretending to make the hard decisions about carrots when in fact I am trying to reply to email and keep in touch with family in Taiwan.