Calgary vs. Edmonton traffic

Driving around Edmonton the past few days made me think about the differences in traffic between Edmonton and Calgary. At first glace when you look at Calgary, you would think that it would be easy to get around quickly and that there would be good flow, since there are a number of north/south and east/west freeways. However, due to the sheer volume of cars on the Calgary roads, and the fact that there are random lights along these freeways, traffic always gets backed up (and I mean REALLY backed up -- as in having to wait four cycles of a traffic light to get through). I've also noticed that the lights are not synchronized in Calgary -- that is, if the light turns green and you get through the intersection, a light like a block away will just turn red. It's mind boggling. For those reasons, it seems to me that it takes a long time to get anywhere in Calgary.

Now, when I arrived in Edmonton the other night, there are certainly more lights, less freeways, and I suppose the volume is less. However, as I entered the city from the south, I didn't hit a single red light from highway 2 all the way to my parent's house in Gold Bar. And that's going through a lot of lights.

So although Calgary has the better infrastructure, the sheer volume and non-synchronization of their lights make traffic in Edmonton a whole lot better.

Update

Amanda and I finished painting our kitchen on Tuesday. We still have a little touching up to do, but the main work is done. My uncle took us out for dinner on Wednesday night to Boston Pizza, which was great. I hadn't been to Boston Pizza in about 2 months, as we're trying to save money by not eating out. I think that's where most of my money went when I lived at home.

I'm on call this weekend (tonight, Saturday and Sunday), and again on Tuesday and Thursday. Lisa is coming to stay with us for a couple of weeks on Sunday as she does an elective at the Children's Hospital.

Amanda and I also booked a trip to Las Vegas at the end of November. We got a really good deal on it, so we couldn't pass it up. It was about half the price of going to Mexico, etc., but, of course, it won't be as warm in Las Vegas at that time. I'm saving all of my clothes and Christmas shopping until I get there. Hopefully the dollar stops its slide and I can get some good deals when I'm there. I need some new shoes, and I may purchase a tux there.

Anyways, I have to be in the hospital at 6:30a.m. tomorrow, so I'm going to go do some cleaning and then get some sleep!

Update

Hi everyone,

I haven't written here in a long time, which I know I should be doing! I've got one week left in my first rotation as a resident. It's gone well so far. Nothing that I didn't expect. The hours are certainly longer than they were as a medical student. Much more responsiblity, much more accountability. I've enjoyed it so far. It's certainly a big adjustment with owning your own house, getting used to cleaning and cooking all the time, especially when you've lived at home your entire life! But it's been good so far, nothing I can complain about. I've tried cooking a few new things, some good, some bad. Too bad Amanda has to deal with the bad food as well as the good! :)

I start thoracic surgery after this rotation. I'm looking forward to it. I quite like the surgical rotations, except for the fact that you have to start so early. But it's at the foothills, so it shouldn't be too bad. I'm especially looking forward to the reduced driving time.

Anyways, I'll talk to you all soon!

All moved in

We moved into our house on Friday. A big thanks to everyone who came to help! Thanks Jon, Nafisa, Adam J and Bob who helped load up in Edmonton. A big thanks to Justin (who also got the awesome moving truck), Scott, Steve, Lacey, and Jan for helping load up in Edmonton and unloading in Calgary. Big thanks to Christine and Jamie, who came and helped us unpack on Saturday!

The house was pretty dirty inside, so Amanda, my mom, and I have been cleaning away, first starting with cleaning the walls and baseboards, then vacuuming all the rugs, and then we went and rented a steam cleaner to further clean the rugs and get out some of the stains. Amanda painted the master bedroom before we came and it looks great. My mom and I will be painting one of the spare bedrooms in the next couple of days, and then the rest of the house will eventually have to be re-painted, as the previous owners didn't seem to be too careful with the walls.

We've done a lot of shopping in the past couple of days, getting a new coffee and side table from Ikea, a new iron from Costco, a ton of groceries, and a slow cooker from Zellers. It's fun to play with all the new toys!

Work starts on Tuesday, so I'm excited to get started and start getting paid!

June 20th, 2007

The MCCQE results (our licensing exam) finally came out today and I passed! So that was the good news of the day.

Hear about the news that Ted Morton wants to raise the drinking age from 18 to 19? I've always had one opinion on what the drinking age should be...if you're old enough to vote and pay taxes, then you're old enough to drink. So if they raise the age of drinking, they should raise the age of voting. By the way, if you can't vote, why should you have to pay tax? That doesn't seem fair to me either (though I doubt many people under 18 earn enough money to have to pay tax on it, unless they drop out of high school and get a full time job.)

The big move is only a couple of days away. The weather is looking good for moving day, so hopefully the forecast stays true!

One thing that's a big pain the ass when moving is changing your address for all your bills. I'm actually having trouble remembering how many bills I have, thus, what I need to change. I'm sure if I somehow miss a bill payment they'll find me! :)

Possession of new place!

Amanda and I got possession of our place in Calgary on Friday. I also had some nose surgery done on me on Friday too -- I wasn't feeling too hot after the surgery, so I didn't make it down on Friday, but my mom drove me down to Calgary on Saturday, so I got the chance to stay overnight here! It's very nice. It needs some cleaning (especially the carpets) and some new paint, but otherwise it's great! I'm very excited to be a homeowner.

The big move is next week. If anyone can help, that'd be great. We're going down Friday after work. Free beer, or whatever type of alcohol you want, and pizza. Bring some sleeping bags and air mattresses if you've got them.

I'll be packing all of this week, but if anyone has anything fun to do, let me know!

Sunday Updates

Hi everyone,

Only a week until Amanda and I leave for Disney World, and then to Michigan afterwards! We're so excited!

We also got some good news today -- we get to take possession of our new house in Calgary a month earlier, so our planned move now is June 23 (Saturday). We actually get possession on June 15th, but I've got my nose surgery that day, so we're going to do the move the weekend after, and just clean the place up before we move everything in during that week that it's empty.

We all went over to my Uncle's tonight for a big beef dinner. I'm so full I could puke.

Anyone else find it disgusting that the BC Ferries Union first tells their members NOT to cooperate with the investigation looking into why the ferry sank, which resulted in the deaths of two passengers, and now they're going to defend those members who were fired. It sickens me. If you screw up, take some responsibility for your mistakes, especially if it resulted in the deaths of two innocent people.

New townhouse

Amanda and I bought a townhouse-style condo in Calgary on Monday. We saw 20 different places and decided to make a bid on this one. There was one competing offer, which was nerve-wracking, but it all worked out. Hopefully the housing market doesn't crash! I'm going down again on Monday for the house inspection, so I'll take some pictures then, but until then, you can check out the new place here:

http://abmls.mlxchange.com/Pub/EmailView.asp?r=499726007&s=ALB&t=ALB

We take possession sometime between July 1 and July 15, so if anyone wants to take a journey to Calgary and help us move, that'd be great! There's lots of room to crash + free booze and food.

House Hunting

Hi everyone,

Amanda and I finally got our mortgage arranged, so we're heading down to Calgary on Monday to view some listings. Hopefully we can find something, but I won't be too worried if we don't find something on the first day of viewings. I guess if you're going to live there for five years, you better be really happy with what you're buying!

Off to Calgary for the weekend.

Hi everyone,

I'm off to Calgary for the weekend with Amanda to go and visit her friend, Kelsey, and to look at some housing options. We have an appointment with MD Management on Monday to get a pre-approved mortgage, so things are moving ahead quite quickly! Only one more week of rotations left...I can't believe med school and university is almost over.