Rugby & Asian Food Festival

This past weekend I attended a rugby match between Canada and Italy at BMO field.

My girlfriend won a contest at her work for her performance and we got some free tickets. In addition we also got an autographed jersey and ball from the whole team.

The game of rugby is really interesting to watch especially live. It is quite action packed. We didn't know any rules prior to starting the match, but google quickly solved all of that.

In the evening we went to the Asian street food festival by pacific mall and I met some of Izzy's friends. The most interesting thing from the festival is this NO2 infused popcorn that you can eat.

BMO field

A cool water park we passed by while biking

Izzy & her bike. She bought this on amazon and I assembled it for her. 

NO2 popcorn from Korea.

Peace from Toronto.

Cancun: Chicen Itza, Xel-Ha and Grand Oasis

The final couple of days in Cancun was a whirlwind of activities. We checked out Chicen Itza, Xel-Ha and a huge 5 star resort called Grand Oasis.

The road to Chicen Itza was about 2 hours long. We rented a smart car from our hotel and left early in the morning. Driving here is a mess inside the city. The roundabouts makes no sense at all, and there are no clear indication of lines on the ground. We are left to fend for ourselves in the urban jungle. To top it off police here are as corrupt as they come. You better have cash prepared if they pull you over. I was overly cautious while driving and always stashed my extra cash in my bag to lessen the bribe. If they see you have a lot of money they may demand more. Unfortunately I was still pulled over once and had to pay a hefty 300 pesos fine, or the equivalent of about $30CAD. It doesn't sound like much but $30CAD goes a long way in Mexico. Once you are outside of the city the roads become progressively better. However you have to be careful of speedbumps along the highway. If you are not careful you can be jolted awake going past one of these.

Chicen Itza is one of the newest 7 wonders of the world. Located about 3 hours drive outside of Cancun. We drove through the free road which passed by the local villages and it was a great ride over. The highway here is sparse of traffic once you get out of Cancun. The attraction itself is cool but nothing spectacular. It was littered with vendors hawking their wares. Really it was a souvenir day as we haggled the vendors and found the best prices on souvenirs. This was of course after our obligatory tourist photos with the big pyramid.

The day after Chicen Itza we relaxed by going to the siter resort of our hotel: The Grand Oasis. It was massive. There are swim up bars inside the pool area and 19 different restaurants are included in our ticket. In the evening we caught the show which is a mixture of song and dance and aerial acrobatics with elaborate costumes.

Xel-Ha was the last day of our trip before heading home. Here in Cancun there are three major tourist theme parks: Xplore, Xel-Ha and XCaret. Xplore is full of ziplining and ATVs, XCaret is an interactive zoo and Xel-Ha is filled with all the water stuff like snorkeling and scuba diving. The park is huge and connected to the ocean. We got to see a bunch of different fish and even come face to face with sting rays. They are like puppies of the sea and wills swim right up next to you to pet them.

Peace from Cancun.

Cancun: Isla Merjeres, Palm Oasis & Oh! by Oasis!

It has only been the third day for us in Cancun now and we are loving it. We have done so many things and activities it feels like we been here forever. I love traveling with this girl!

So the first day we flew in and quickly was brought to our hotel with the included shuttle. We checked in with ease but was disappointed to find a small room facing downtown (read: crappy) for our original check-in. I quickly went downstairs and worked my charm. As a result we were upgraded to the honeymoon suite with a pool facing view and it is gorgeous. Of course I made sure to tip the front desk girl afterwords for the change ;)

The first day we just explored the surrounding area and had some local Mexican food. Everything is so spicy! The climate here reminds me of Thailand except it is hotter and the sun is brutal during the day if you are not properly covered up. In the evening we came back and checked out the club attached to our resort Crazy Hot Coyote. As a guest of our hotel we had free entrance and caught the tail end of a performance. It was really cool just based on what we saw. We will definitely be back again to check out the whole show.

The hotel itself is amazing and well deserving of 4 stars. For the amount we paid I am very happy with the experience. The staff here is very polite and will go out of their way to help you out. It also helps that I am trying all the Spanish I learned from my phone on them at every opportunity :D The breakfast is superb and included in our price. But the most surprising thing is the price of a la carte items for lunch and dinner are surprisingly reasonable, in fact they are cheaper and way better than the other downtown options we tried. The other nice perk of the hotel is the pool. I will let the photos speak for themselves.

The Oh! Oasis is in central Cancun downtown. That is about 10 minutes by car to the hotel area which is the strip of 5 star all inclusive resorts and privately owned beaches. Oasis is a big chain of hotels and as a result of staying in ours we get free access to the Palm Oasis a 5 star resort with its own massive beach and water sports and entertainment. So that is what we did for the second day. We also got to eat and drink there for free even though it was not included in our package. Sweet!

The resorts and hotel are nice but by far the most fun we have had was yesterday. We went to Isla Mejeres. This is a small island off the tip of Cancun. The name means Island of Women. In ancient Mayan times this was used as a sacred place of worship. Today it houses a wide variety of collectives from tourist traps, beaches, turtle farms to hostels and hotels. We rented a scooter and zipped around the island. Stopping along the way we saw turtles in a natural hatchery, dolphins and sea lions in their version of seaworld. The second one we just snuck in again through sheer confidence and luck. Thus didn't have to pay their outrageous charge. To finish off for the day we took the ferry back and was entertained by the onboard guitarist on the second deck. The winds of paradise in our hair and spanish songs filling our ears. This is what I had imagined before coming here!

Peace from Cancun.

Update: Work, Play, Love & Future Possibilities.

So it has been a while since I last updated this blog. Really there isn't a lot to update on now that I have returned to civilian life. But there are a lot of new and exciting opportunities that I am actively pursuing right now. Before that lets rewind and see what I have been up to.

Work
So I have been working with foodora now still since the last update. I applied for the KAM (Key Account Manager) position in Toronto which oversees accounts. Unfortunately I did not get that position. I think overall the interview went well. I believe the main reason I did not receive that position is because I expressed high interest in relocating to Vancouver since we are opening an office there. From my boss' point of view it is not worth the time and effort to train someone for a position and then simply have them relocate within one or two month. Especially since the KAM position deals a lot with relationship building and managing account with our restaurant partners. My argument against that was I would be able to wear many hats in Vancouver and provide onsite training to new hires there in either Courier Growth (My current role) or KAM (my new role).

In any case at that point I was not too disappointing since I was told Vancouver would open up in a few week-month. Vancouver was my first choice above all else. Since then I have not yet heard back and that is disconcerting.

On the other hand situation has changed in my own life. Ie. My girlfriend which I will get to in a bit. Thus I am not too concerned re: Vancouver right now. But I want to get out of the Courier Growth role at foodora. As I feel the room for growth and learning has stagnated.

Love
So as I mentioned in my previous post. I am currently going to Cancun with my girlfriend Izzy. I met her at my rock climbing gym. I love everything about this girl! She is smart, beautiful and has a great personality. My parents also approve. Especially my mom who told me: "Marry her next year." Haha

Anyways Izzy is a financial advisor for Sunlife Financial. She is a Chinese citizen but has PR in Canada. She can speak English, Chinese and Japanese. However we mostly speak Chinese since she feels self conscious around me. But her English is fully fluent.

We have really great conversations together and I love spending time with her. I feel I am a pragmatic optimist so this is not just a honeymoon phase. We have already talked about plans to move in this August.

Play
I have quit my job at the rock climbing gym for now. I really found it difficult to work two jobs and have a girlfriend at the same time. I have loved that job since day one and rock climbing is my passion. But alas somethings has to go.

I have also bought a slackline and have been going to the parks downtown at every opportunity I get to practice. Toronto in the summer is a pretty swell place.

Future Opportunities and Plans
There are some opportunities on the horizon. Here is my analysis of the situation.

1. Stay with foodora. In order for this to be worthwhile for me and the company. I need to move into another role. I must be constantly learning and advancing my career. Plus I feel I can be better utilized in other roles. Getting out of my comfort zone is a big part of this. I have learned almost 99% of everything there is to know to my position and I have settled into a groove now at work. The challenge is gone.

2. Apply for MaRs Studio Y. This program takes about 25 young people every year. Identified as the next leaders of industries who will effect system wide change across sectors. MaRs is the innovation hub of Canada. If selected for this program I will be rubbing shoulders with the best and brightest of Canada along side with the industry leaders of all sectors from Fianace, health to technology. I went to the open house before I left for Cancun and got a wealth of information from talking to previous years' cohorts. I guess the best way to describe this program is that it is an intensive immersive personal incubator. We have to go to MaRs from Wednesday-Sunday 9-5. We are allowed to maintain our own endevours on the side but it will probably prove very challenging and draining.

3. Apply for another job with another company. I have not yet actively started looking yet. Thus I do not know what the job market is like. However I have been going to a lot of networking events since coming back from France and I feel I am well established if I decided to go this route. However I really like the culture at foodora and would like to stay there is possible.

4. Give up everything and relocated to a tropical climate with my gf. I just read an interesting article online the other day about the price of real estate abroad in tropical third world countries. For about $40 000 Canadian you can purchase a home or condo in Thailand, Vietnam etc and have live in cooks and maids! Due to the exchange rate and the low wage of labor you can literally live like a king abroad for pennies on the dollar. To make it work we would have to have some sort of location independent job or open up a tourist oriented business. Ex. Dive shop, English school, Tourist company, Cafe, Restaurant. Scooter rental shop etc. The possibilities are endless and this is definitely a viable option. I know it may seem really far and out of the norm for many people. But I have seen it work first hand from living in Thailand for 4 month as well as my many travel.

5. Become a realtor in Toronto. The real estate business is booming in Toronto. Housing prices have been on the rise for the last decade with no stoppage in sight. Izzy and I know many older folks who have been just flipping houses and making a killing. To get into that game and really understand the market I need to become a realtor. As a realtor you have access to MLS which is the aggregate site for all the listings. As a result you have first dibs on any properties. With experience you will also be able to spot trends in market upticks for specific neighborhoods and strategically invest money there. My gf is a financial adviser. A lot of people choose to invest in property as part of their fiancial plan. We are both in our late 20s. Our inner circle of friends are thinking about or about to buy a house/condo. Thus there is already two ways to get clients. It would be the financial dream team; I can refer my clients to her and she can to mine.

That is it for now. This is just a quick analysis of the situation I could go on for days about these topics. But I will leave it here for now. Still in Cancun and it has been amazing! Paradise calls.

Peace from Cancun.

Cancun baby June 10-17.

So I am going to Cancun with my girlfriend Izzy now. We are currently sitting in the airport lounge waiting for our flight.

We found a really cheap flight for Cancun and are going there for a week. With flights and hotel included it was $475/person! What a steal! I rented out my apartment for that time and pretty much have a free vacation as a result!

As for Cancun this is the first time I have traveled with my girlfriend. They say traveling is the best way to see if you are compatible with a person and I am about to put it to the test.

Izzy and I met at my rock climbing gym True North. It's a really cute story actually.

So I was working there on the weekend, belaying a group of 6-7 year old kids. She was on the line next to me and we chatted briefly while I was on duty. After the end of my shift I got the cutest kid from my group to take my phone and ask her number for me! Haha :D Finally there is a use for little kids!

We have been dating now for about 2 month. Some may say it is too soon to go traveling or even meet the parents. I say turn down for what!!! We did both already. I really feel like we have something special and she is definitely wifey material. Lets face it I am not getting any younger and I can definitely see myself with her for a long time ;)

Waiting for our flight!

We go to the park a lot to slackline. She is such a procrastinator. Studying for her finance exam. 

Peace from YYZ airport.