9.20.2005

follow-ups

Mississauga's recycling program is amazing. We have barely one large bag of garbage each week. Now I can see how the "three bag standard" is possible.

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I also wanted to clarify something regarding my earlier observation about the relative frugality of Canadians. Although I have had some private amusement over concerns about the price long-distance phone calls and parking, at the same time, I've been bowled over by Canadians' personal generosity towards me and Allan. So many people - including many of you - have shared their time, thoughts and support. Some of you have given us "welcome to Canada" gifts (both edible and not!), which we are much abashed to accept.

This is clearly a culture that values giving to others. I see that on a daily basis.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is what I've been using to replace the Bell-provided long distance service for the last few years without any issues whatsoever.
YAK Long Distance: 10-15-945 + 1-XXX-XXXX (7 cents / min - Canada to US)
Basically, the charges get added to your Bell phone bill under the "other carriers" section...
A friend of mine resides in Minneapolis and this has been a cheap way to not having to count the minutes when chatting...
No need to advise Bell or anything like that - they know of the service and simply bill you. You simply dial the few extra numbers beforehand...I believe there's a 5 cents-a-minute service out there but not sure what it's called!

Anonymous said...

It's funny now that I've read your previous musings over the price of things and how we can be so frugal about certain little things such as long distance...see, I even posted the above comment and tips on how to save well, perhaps 5 dollars a month on my overall expenses...it just came naturally without much thinking about it but I completely acknowledge your point as you are so right, this is just one of those things that one has to live with...the "cost" of living as they say!
Food for thought(sorry cliche line here!)...thanks for that!

Anonymous said...

Sorry that was me posting the above comment...there you go, I just said "sorry" ...probably something else you've noticed about us...

laura k said...

Hi Franc, welcome to wmtc! If you're looking to save money on phone bills, I highly recommend Vonage. Unlimited local and long-distance, nothing extra to dial, and lots of great extras. (But you need high-speed internet to get it.)

Thanks for your comments, hope to see more of you here.

Anonymous said...

Thanks!
An American friend of mine grew up in Canada (in a French-speaking suburb of Montreal that is - went to High School together there) so I remember what he had to go through adjusting to life in Canada. Moved here when he was about 15. His experience was a bit of double-whammy with having to also learn French. This is what makes me relate to your posts so much based on my personal experience and all the stories he and I used to share. This is what I truly enjoy about your Blog.
Another friend of mine went through the opposite experience a few years ago and moved Stateside with his family for a job so I'm also hearing that story from his perspective.
Keep up the good work!