I had inspections today for the home I am planning on purchasing. Check out all of the pics I took.
If all goes well, I will be closing July 9th and all the way moved in by July 23rd.
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Sunday, May 20, 2007
My Week in Toronto
I made a trip to Toronto, Ontario (map) this week to visit the performance management division (performancesoft) for my company. The first half of the week we spent going over the software they develop there and the rest of the week I spent educating them in BIRT.
Sunday
I arrived a little after noon at my hotel (map). I then started walking downtown to see what I could find. I walked past the Rogers Centre (map) just as the BlueJays game was getting out. This is the famous stadium that has the retractable roof. There was a brewery, Steam Whistle Brewery (map), nearby so I decided to go check it out. I ended up having a couple of the free samples and did a tour. After the tour, I met these intoxicated Torontonians and they told me all about Toronto over more free samples. They were big baseball fans and one of the guys couldn't quit telling me about how much he loved Kauffman Stadium (the stadium where the Kansas City Royals play) (map). The brewery was closing down and they wanted me to join them out front for more beers they had purchased at the brewery. Weird, I know, but they were real friendly and gave me a bunch of info about Toronto. Anyways, after hanging out front of the brewery for a while I decided it was time for me to go up to CN Tower (map). After denying several invitations to go to their BBQ party back at their place, I made my way to the tower.
CN Tower was pretty incredible. Apparently, it's the tallest building in the world. It cost about $20 and the elevator takes you to the top. The view was really clear the evening I went up (see pictures). I ended up having dinner at the top of the tower at Horizons Cafe. The food wasn't very good (I had the Grilled Lime and Honey Glazed Shrimp Brochette), but it was definitely worth it because I got to sit right next to the window and take in the sights while I was eating. Before I went down, I stood on the transparent glass floor:
Monday
I walked from the Actuate office (map) and went to the first place that looked good for lunch: The Healthy Greek. It was one of those places where you can see the big spit of meat spinning in the window. I got the wrap and Greek salad. The wrap was the best I ever had. The crunchy chicken, sauce, and fresh vegetables really made it.
I didn't do much this night as I was pretty worn out from traveling the previous the day and walking all over the city. I went and ate at this Korean BBQ place called Yummy BBQ (map). I got the BBQ chicken and ribs. The meat was just ok, but it came with all of these random sides like this weird tofu dish and some type of marinated cabbage. The sides were disgusting.
Sunday
I arrived a little after noon at my hotel (map). I then started walking downtown to see what I could find. I walked past the Rogers Centre (map) just as the BlueJays game was getting out. This is the famous stadium that has the retractable roof. There was a brewery, Steam Whistle Brewery (map), nearby so I decided to go check it out. I ended up having a couple of the free samples and did a tour. After the tour, I met these intoxicated Torontonians and they told me all about Toronto over more free samples. They were big baseball fans and one of the guys couldn't quit telling me about how much he loved Kauffman Stadium (the stadium where the Kansas City Royals play) (map). The brewery was closing down and they wanted me to join them out front for more beers they had purchased at the brewery. Weird, I know, but they were real friendly and gave me a bunch of info about Toronto. Anyways, after hanging out front of the brewery for a while I decided it was time for me to go up to CN Tower (map). After denying several invitations to go to their BBQ party back at their place, I made my way to the tower.
CN Tower was pretty incredible. Apparently, it's the tallest building in the world. It cost about $20 and the elevator takes you to the top. The view was really clear the evening I went up (see pictures). I ended up having dinner at the top of the tower at Horizons Cafe. The food wasn't very good (I had the Grilled Lime and Honey Glazed Shrimp Brochette), but it was definitely worth it because I got to sit right next to the window and take in the sights while I was eating. Before I went down, I stood on the transparent glass floor:
Monday
I walked from the Actuate office (map) and went to the first place that looked good for lunch: The Healthy Greek. It was one of those places where you can see the big spit of meat spinning in the window. I got the wrap and Greek salad. The wrap was the best I ever had. The crunchy chicken, sauce, and fresh vegetables really made it.
I didn't do much this night as I was pretty worn out from traveling the previous the day and walking all over the city. I went and ate at this Korean BBQ place called Yummy BBQ (map). I got the BBQ chicken and ribs. The meat was just ok, but it came with all of these random sides like this weird tofu dish and some type of marinated cabbage. The sides were disgusting.
Tuesday
For lunch, I ate at the same Greek place as I did on Monday. I couldn't resist :)
I had been persuaded by several coworkers that I absolutely needed to go Niagara Falls (map) while I was up in this area. The Falls are about 80 miles from Toronto. I heard from several people that the casinos will basically give free bus rides to Niagara Falls to get you to go into their casinos. I checked this out a little bit and it didn't really seem to go with my timeframe (I had to work most of the day). So, I was able to get a round trip student ticket at the bus depot for $30 Canadian. It was about 2.5 hours there and 2 hours back.
The Falls were incredible. It was really weird how the temperature would quickly change like 15 degrees when gusts from the Falls would hit you. Also, the time of the day I was there yielded many different rainbows (see pictures). I can also see why the Canadian side is better to view than the US side. The water actually falls on the US side but you have the perfect view of it on the other side (Canada).
I ate at this place right by the Falls called Edgewater's Tap & Grill (map) and sat outside where I could still see both Falls. I had the BBQ ribs and chicken (American style, not Korean) with a big huge piece of delicious baked cheesecake. I also had the local Niagara brew, Millstone Lager, which was pretty tasty.
Wednesday and Thursday
I had to spend both of these evenings locked in my hotel room working on my final examination for Software Architecture :(
Wednesday I ate at this Vietnamese restaurant for dinner called The Bowl (map). I had their chicken noodle soup (usually what I like from Vietnamese restaurants). The owner actually told me about his recipe and how he used to use MSG but has gone to all natural ingredients. Whatever was in it, it was really good.
On Thursday, I had sushi at this place nearby the office. I got soup, salad, and 12 California pieces for only $9. The sushi was just as good as any place in Kansas and cost a third less. Thursday night I got a burrito from this place called Burrito Boyz (map). I had heard about how good this place was from the guys at work and they were totally right. It was basically just like Chipotle except for they grill each side of the burrito so it's all good and crunchy.
Friday
Had spring rolls and Pad Thai at East for lunch and headed to the airport to travel back to the good 'ol US :)
For lunch, I ate at the same Greek place as I did on Monday. I couldn't resist :)
I had been persuaded by several coworkers that I absolutely needed to go Niagara Falls (map) while I was up in this area. The Falls are about 80 miles from Toronto. I heard from several people that the casinos will basically give free bus rides to Niagara Falls to get you to go into their casinos. I checked this out a little bit and it didn't really seem to go with my timeframe (I had to work most of the day). So, I was able to get a round trip student ticket at the bus depot for $30 Canadian. It was about 2.5 hours there and 2 hours back.
The Falls were incredible. It was really weird how the temperature would quickly change like 15 degrees when gusts from the Falls would hit you. Also, the time of the day I was there yielded many different rainbows (see pictures). I can also see why the Canadian side is better to view than the US side. The water actually falls on the US side but you have the perfect view of it on the other side (Canada).
I ate at this place right by the Falls called Edgewater's Tap & Grill (map) and sat outside where I could still see both Falls. I had the BBQ ribs and chicken (American style, not Korean) with a big huge piece of delicious baked cheesecake. I also had the local Niagara brew, Millstone Lager, which was pretty tasty.
Wednesday and Thursday
I had to spend both of these evenings locked in my hotel room working on my final examination for Software Architecture :(
Wednesday I ate at this Vietnamese restaurant for dinner called The Bowl (map). I had their chicken noodle soup (usually what I like from Vietnamese restaurants). The owner actually told me about his recipe and how he used to use MSG but has gone to all natural ingredients. Whatever was in it, it was really good.
On Thursday, I had sushi at this place nearby the office. I got soup, salad, and 12 California pieces for only $9. The sushi was just as good as any place in Kansas and cost a third less. Thursday night I got a burrito from this place called Burrito Boyz (map). I had heard about how good this place was from the guys at work and they were totally right. It was basically just like Chipotle except for they grill each side of the burrito so it's all good and crunchy.
Friday
Had spring rolls and Pad Thai at East for lunch and headed to the airport to travel back to the good 'ol US :)
Monday, May 07, 2007
New York Day 3
There's something wrong with my server so I won't actually be able to post this and the new pictures until I get home and see what's wrong with my home machine.
Anyways, we took the Staten Island Ferry this morning and saw the Statue of Liberty (map). Then, we checked out Wall Street (map), New York Stock Exchange (map), etc. We also got to check out Ground Zero (map).
We ended up in Chinatown(map) and ate at Joe's Shanghai (map) for lunch. The chef is famous for perfecting the art of soup inside a pastry. The crab stuffed dumplings were the highlight of our meal. We then made it to Little Italy (map) and had some gelato.
For dinner we ate at Ray's Pizza (map) in Time Square. Then, we went down the street for insanely good cheesecake at Roxy's Deli (map). I had the marble chocolate and Megan had the strawberry.
Headed back to KC tomorrow...
Anyways, we took the Staten Island Ferry this morning and saw the Statue of Liberty (map). Then, we checked out Wall Street (map), New York Stock Exchange (map), etc. We also got to check out Ground Zero (map).
We ended up in Chinatown(map) and ate at Joe's Shanghai (map) for lunch. The chef is famous for perfecting the art of soup inside a pastry. The crab stuffed dumplings were the highlight of our meal. We then made it to Little Italy (map) and had some gelato.
For dinner we ate at Ray's Pizza (map) in Time Square. Then, we went down the street for insanely good cheesecake at Roxy's Deli (map). I had the marble chocolate and Megan had the strawberry.
Headed back to KC tomorrow...
Sunday, May 06, 2007
New York Day 2
We went to the Empire State Building (map) first thing this morning. It took me a while to warm up the extreme height. It was definitely something else though and offered a view of all of Manhattan.
Afterwards, we went further North and checked out Rockefeller Plaza (map) and Central Park (map). Central Park is friggin huge. It's like a whole another world inside a concrete jungle.
We had the world famous frozen hot chocolate from Serendipity (map). It was so good, but I ate way too much of it and then had to walk several miles :(
See all the pictures from today.
For dinner tonight, we went to this Jamaican / Southern food place called Maroon's (map). It won best fried chicken in NY in 2006. Naturally, I order the fried chicken and Megan got the meatloaf. It was so good, but of course I ate too much and then had to walk a mile back to the hotel.
Afterwards, we went further North and checked out Rockefeller Plaza (map) and Central Park (map). Central Park is friggin huge. It's like a whole another world inside a concrete jungle.
We had the world famous frozen hot chocolate from Serendipity (map). It was so good, but I ate way too much of it and then had to walk several miles :(
See all the pictures from today.
For dinner tonight, we went to this Jamaican / Southern food place called Maroon's (map). It won best fried chicken in NY in 2006. Naturally, I order the fried chicken and Megan got the meatloaf. It was so good, but of course I ate too much and then had to walk a mile back to the hotel.
New York Day 1
We arrived in New York yesterday after catching a flight at 7:20AM from Kansas City (yes, we had to get up at 4AM!). I thought I was going to die from the cab ride from the hotel. They drive within inches of each other! Our hotel is in a very centralized location in Manhattan (map).
Yesterday evening, we explored Times Square (map). Check out pictures from yesterday.
Today, we're going and checking out some more things on the Northern side of New York - Empire State Building, Central Park, Rockefeller Plaza, etc.
Yesterday evening, we explored Times Square (map). Check out pictures from yesterday.
Today, we're going and checking out some more things on the Northern side of New York - Empire State Building, Central Park, Rockefeller Plaza, etc.
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