Day One to Alberta

My original plan was to start our journey bright and early in the morning. So my whole trip was completely mapped out with that in mind.  By the time we had cleaned the apartment, returned the keys, returned the cable tv equipment and had some lunch, it was 2pm.  Oops!  There was no more delaying, it was time to get started!

Into the car we get - oops, better fill with gas first, or we won't be going very far!  NOW it was time to head away!

The first part of the journey was driving to Edmunston, New Brunswick.  0 - 612km.

The drive was rather pleasant, very little traffic, and good roads most of the way.

Goodbye Nova Scotia!

Hello New Brunswick!

We had some spectacular views along the way.

It was Emily who first noticed something odd about the exit signs - they were shaped to fit the numbers, rather than the standard size we were used to in Nova Scotia.

The other thing we noticed - a TON of warning signs....

....and I guess they work, because they kept the moose away  :)  I didn't see a single one - although Caitlin said she did see one in some trees.

Train tracks in the middle of the highway - thank god there were no trains coming!

And what's a road trip without a funny story.....

So I was cruising along, and we came across some roadworks.  The usual orange cones directing traffic into one lane. So I'm driving down the open lane, and have the orange cones continuing along beside me. And then there was an on-ramp to merge in - so it was here that there was a bit of a mess of cones and it was hard to work out what was going on.  There was no one else around - no workers, just the cones, and at this point, I was the only car.  I went around a bend, still continuing in the lane that was "open", and then a car went passed me in the OTHER lane.  Just up ahead, I could see another car in that lane too.  So now I'm really confused.  The cones originally were very clear that the right hand lane was closed off, but had it changed?  So now I have no idea if I'm in the open lane or the closed lane.  Still no one else around, but now we have cars in both lanes. God knows how they got into that other lane?  And then, just when I didn't know whether to panic or laugh, the cones just stopped as if they were never there..... What the heck was all *that* about?  Oh well, it gave us all a good laugh!


Now, it was suggested that I stop for the night in Edmunston, NB, as this was the last english speaking town before we get to Quebec.  Boy, were we in for a very big surprise!!  Yes, the town is bilingual, but it is predominantely French. Everyone greeted us in French first, then quickly switched when faced with the blank looks.

Once we settled into our room, it was off to find a place for dinner.  We decided to try out Boston Pizza - lovely place, excellent service. They quickly changed our French menus for English ones, which was very handy.  However, the dessert menu on the table was in French. Who needs dessert anyway  :)

Back to the hotel, a few quick emails to family so they knew we were still alive, and then it was straight to sleep for our long day of driving ahead!

The prep work to getting to Alberta

After months of paperwork, money and a fair bit of stress, my work permit was finally issued for my new job in Alberta! Once the work permit was through, it was all systems go to get everything sorted out - I had to give notice on the apartment, give my resignation at work, arrange for a moving company, decide on a start date for the new job, organise the girls......the list was never ending!!!

All in all, it took just over three weeks to get everything sorted.  Packing was the worst job ever - its amazing how quickly you accumulate junk in a short two years!  And I'd be damned if I was going to pay to move junk to Alberta!  I think the landlord was getting a little bit annoyed with the amount of garbage we were tossing.  Oh well...

I had the moving company all sorted - they would be here by the end of the month, and then we could jump in the car and start our little trek across country.  If only it were that easy....

I still hadn't had a date confirmed by the moving company.  So I called them, and was again assured they'd be there before the end of the month.  Then on the 30th, still no word, so I called again and asked if they realise it was the end of the month now?  To be told that the moving truck was over on PEI for the day.  I was then given the option to PAY a priority fee to get him to come out that night between 7pm - 11pm.  Yeah, that would go down well having a moving company show up that late in an apartment building.

Thankfully they showed up the next morning, bright and early.  Yippee!!!  I had all my boxes sorted and ready to be loaded!

The guys were pretty impressed at how organized I was, even to the point of dismantling everything myself.  The only problem I had with them - they showed up with no tape!  Who goes on a job with NO TAPE?????  Thankfully I had a TON of rolls of tape, which I gladly donated.  In return, I scored premium packing on the tv and keyboard, and didn't get charged for the extra bits and pieces.  And as a bonus - I now didn't have a dozen rolls of tape to bother with!

Once the movers had gone, we were left with a rather empty looking apartment with a ton of cleaning to do.  The worst of it was the kitchen.  Now, due to the move, I hadn't really been buying much in the way of groceries.  I was trying to clear out the freezer and cupboards from the hoards of stockpiling I had accumulated (thank you Costco!).  Unfortunately, now that we were down to the last couple of days, it was obvious we weren't going to be able to eat it all. So I "donated" to everyone at work, and chucked the rest.  Such a waste, but had to be done.

Next up was sorting out the stuff to go in the car.  I had decided to limit the car packing to one suitcase each - even though its a decent sized car, the luggage space is pathetic. Plus we were taking a few things with us that we'd need straight away when we arrive in Alberta.  Yeah, great plan....

So I get home from doing a chore, and Emily had come up with a great plan to put ALL the stuff to go in the car into the now empty living room.  OMG!  What a mess!!!  Time to start panicking - how the HELL are we going to fit ALL that into the car!!!???

So after a bit more rearranging, throwing out a lot more unnecessary stuff that doesn't need to make the trip across country, and quite a few promises of "yeah yeah, we'll buy a new one when we get there", it was time to now play tetris - adult style!!

It took almost an hour, but I did it - everything loaded in, all nooks and crannies totally filled, and still able to see out my windows and mirrors!

Filled to the brim!

Even the gerbils get their own little space

And yes, I can still see fine!

So now the car was packed up with no room to spare, it was time to head off!  WooHoo!!!!

Canadian Taxes - part two

Well, it's that time of year again - tax time!!  After last years fun experience, I was all ready to tackle my taxes again, this time using good ol' e-filing!

Now, I still don't understand the logic.  I have been e-filing for years. In Australia, you go to the tax departments website, you download their e-filing software (for free), do your taxes and send it in, and magically have a healthy looking bank account approximately 10 days later.  Easy peasy.  Not so in this great country called Canada!  First I have to select from a multitude of taxation software.  This is not an easy task for a Libra girl who is not good at making decisions at the best of times.  Which software is the 'best', and does it really matter?  They all have different interfaces, some are easy step by step guides, others are confusing jumbles of questions.  But surely they will all give me the same result - a lovely juicy tax return?

Well, apparently not.  Ok, some might argue that I am too anal-retentive. Others may suggest I simply have far too much time on my hands.  Others still may applaud my efforts at determining which tax software to select.  How did I do it, you ask?  Read on.....

First step - work out my tax the good old fashioned way - on paper. This in itself was a tedious process as I had to navigate several new tax issues.  Apparently I can claim the cost of a dependent's university education!  Brilliant!!  Oh no, not so fast, say's the almighty tax department.  YOU can't claim education costs until the said student has done their OWN tax return!  ^*$#%!!!!

Ok, so revised first step - wait (impatiently) a few more weeks until busy university student does *their* tax return! (Long drawn out saga - another story for another day.  Suffice to say, I don't think she'll be looking at a career as a tax agent any time soon...)

Now that I had the necessary documents in hand, I could return to MY tax return!  So I worked through all the arduous forms (see previous blog on taxes) and worked out what I could expect Mr. Taxman to give me.

Now that I knew what sort of return to expect, it was time to test out the tax software available.  Thankfully, most of the big name companies allow you to enter all the information online prior to actually paying, so I could check them all out.

First up, TurboTax, simply because my bank was offering a 20% discount for their software.  So I plug in all the information they asked for, question after question, and I hadn't even gotten to the income and deductions yet!  Finally, I start to transfer the information from my T4.  Now the thing I loved about TurboTax is that it has a running total at the side so you can see your tax return growing as you go.  So here I am, happily inputting all my numbers and watching my return grow and grow and grow.  By the time I got to $10,000 (yes, you read that right!), I am literally BOUNCING in my seat.  I am already spending the return in my head, and I hadn't even got to the end of the return yet!  I seriously want to kiss the computer - I can't believe I wasted time working out my tax on paper! I obviously have missed some major tax deductions.  This program is AWESOME!!!!!!

So I get to the last lot of questions, and now I'm getting a bit confused.  The program is asking me questions about my life in Nunavut. I'm not sure why, but who cares.  With my 10 grand, maybe I'll go visit the place.  Then I began to wonder *why* it was asking me about Nunavut.  Cos that's a bit odd for a tax return to to be worrying about that.  So, I go back to the very first screen, the one where I have to select what province I live in.  Gosh, right there, under Nova Scotia is Nunavut.  Oopps!  So I click on the correct province, and watch my awesome return drop.  Majorly drop.  Like over 75% drop.  :(  Now I'm really bummed, in a "I just overspent the budget and now can't afford to pay the bills" kinda bummed.  My new total did NOT match my paper total either.  Weird.

So next up, I tried out U-File.  I wasn't impressed with their interface, and I got the impression that you had to really know what you were claiming in your return.  At least TurboTax walked you through everything.  This one relied on YOU to select what you were entering and claiming, so it would be easy to miss something. I plodded along, and got to the end, and had a different total yet again.

Ok, so now I'm wondering which program I should use - the one with the highest return, the one with the fanciest interface, the one so simple even a dummy could figure it out (providing you actually click on the correct province to begin with!).  TOO MANY CHOICES!!!!!  And should I be concerned that they all gave me a different result?

So the long and short of it - which one did I pick? None of them - I went with the free one I found with the boring, plain interface.  Hell, I shouldn't have to PAY to lodge my tax return!

Now to sit back and wait - here's hoping I don't have to wait 6 months again.  I need that money to get me to Alberta! Yeah, I learned nothing from last year - I still have the money spent in my head before I even get it!

Why Government Departments Make No Sense...

Ok, so I'm probably not really going to be able to answer that question, but I needed a title for the post....

So, fun fact about me.  I'm terrible when it comes to patience.  I have none.  I have no self control, I hate waiting for anything, and don't know the meaning of that stupid phrase "all good things come to those who wait".  Not true - good things come regardless of waiting, if you want it bad enough, get it now rather than wait for it!

Yes, I'm the one who picks up all the presents under the Christmas tree, shaking them all to figure out what's in it.  I may have also been guilty a time or two (but who's counting) of actually creating holes in the wrapping paper to snatch a peek at what's hidden beneath!  This has become even easier over the last few years thanks to a mother who has wrapping paper from so many years ago, that its prone to ripping just from looking at it!

But I digress...

So my lack of patience tends to become a problem in situations like my current one - waiting for a work permit.  And I'm not sure if it's a blessing or a curse that we now live in a time where everything is accessible on the internet.  Thanks to technology, I can now log onto the Canadian Immigration website and check out their current processing times!  This *should* make my life more tolerable knowing how much longer until my work permit is going to be approved, right?  I wish!  It's nothing more than a torture device designed to confuse poor innocent people like myself, and to create more stress and havoc in my life!

Now, the simple thing to do would be to stop worrying and just stay away from their website.  But no, it's like a computerized version of a Christmas tree, taunting me, daring me to check the current statistics. And even though the logical part of me knows that checking the current process times won't actually make my work permit get approved any faster, I can't help but check. And I'm ashamed to say that I'm crazy enough to even check several times a week, even though I *know* they only update their times on a weekly basis.  But hey - you never know, they might have been bored one afternoon and decided to update the info early?

The confusing part in all this?  I don't actually know how to interpret the information they're giving me.  Yes, I am probably totally overthinking it all, and I'm sure it's not rocket science. But I have nothing else to do but look at this ridiculous website and worry about what it all means.

So, according to the website - it indicates the time it takes to process an application after they receive it.  Ok, I get that bit.

Then it lists the current processing time, and what applications they are currently working on.

So when I lodged my application, the current processing time was 42 days, and they were working on applications lodged on December 22nd.  Now, this could mean that it takes 42 days to process, and they're currently up to applications lodged on Dec 22nd, OR it could mean that they are currently working on applications lodged on Dec 22nd, and it takes 42 days to process (ie, the 42 days start from now for those lodged on Dec 22nd).  Have I confused you yet?

So each week, I check the updated information, I stress a little when they've only moved a few days ahead, and cheer a lot when they're moved over a week ahead. I look forward to the day that I check and see that they're currently working on applications lodged on the same day *I* lodged my application!

Canadian taxes - part 1

So while I'm on a blogging roll, how about I share my experiences of lodging tax returns in Canada.  Now that the initial debacle is over, its quite humorous really.

So the tax year here coincides with the calendar year, so January to December.  So that makes life a bit easy.  However, as I found out the hard way, employers have until the END OF FEBRUARY before they have to send out your income information, known as a T4.  For years, I have lodged my tax return usually in the first week of when the tax dept takes returns!  After my initial annoyance at having to wait for so long, I decided that would be ok, as I would have the money for March break, so its all good.

So finally, early March, I have my T4 in my hot little hand, and so starts the process of working out my taxes.  I hunted and hunted throughout the tax dept's website for how to lodge - I've been e-filing for years, simple and quick, a totally painless way to do taxes.  Not so in Canada!  While Canada does offer e-filing, you need to use an authorised taxation software program, which you buy at the store.  WHAT????  Sneaky tax dept!  But worse, because this would be my first time lodging in Canada, I was not allowed to e-file!  NNOOOO!!!!!

So, against my better judgement, I went to a tax agent who offered same day returns.  With March break quickly looming, I wanted my return now!  I had plans for that money!  So I went to the tax agent, along with half the town it would seem, and waited for several hours for my turn to be seen.  I finally got into the little office and started the process of having someone else do my return.  Then she started going on about having to file it through the international division, and it would take weeks to go through.  Huh?  no no, you offer same day returns!  But alas, no, I apparently didn't qualify for that. I would have to lodge a paper return, and not expect a return any time soon.  Well, there was no way I was going to pay someone else to do what I could do myself if I wasn't going to get the return any quicker, so back home I went.

Next up - actually working out my return using the paper forms.  Confusing doesn't even begin to explain the process.  It started out quite simply - plotting in the information from my T4 into the appropriate squares. Having only one job and one source of income, this was relatively easy.  Then I turned the page.....

Next was question after question about RRSP's, UCCB, CPP, and the like.  Huh?  What the hell are they?  Well, if I don't know, I'm guessing I don't get that.  Onto the next bit I go. More questions about deductions and loans, blah blah blah.  Finally I get to the magical box at the bottom stating this figure is my Taxable Income. Which is not to be confused with my actual income or my net income.  Ok....so far, so good.  Turn the page again....

Now this is where things get hairy.  First I have to work out my federal tax.  This involves a completely separate form full of a few more confusing questions.  Once I had that sorted out (this process may have been simplified had I imbibed in a few glasses of relaxing alcohol - hey, I wonder if *that* would then count as a tax deduction?), then it was time to work out my Provincial tax.  What?  How much friggin tax do I need to pay?  The Canadian tax dept is very sneaky.  They *appear* to have a low tax rate, but that's just the federal tax rate!  Then you also have to pay tax for the province you live in - and that tax rate is different in every province! And wouldn't you know it, I've picked the province with one of the highest tax rates!  Oh goodie!

So finally, I worked out ALL the tax amounts, do a bit of brain numbing arithmetic, and come to the glorious conclusion - I'm owed a tax refund!  WOOHOO!!!!

After a double check that everything is added and subtracted correctly, I place all the required forms into the brown envelope and send that sucker away.  I was a bit bummed that I wouldn't get my return in time for March break, but oh well.  It would be here in time for Summer break instead - which would be handy for our trip to PEI. 

So I sit back and relax for the next 6 weeks, waiting waiting.  Finally I call the tax dept and ask how much longer I have to wait.  It is now that the real frustrations begin.  I'm told that because it is my first year filing a tax return and I'm a foreigner, my tax return has to be processed manually by the international office. Crap, the tax agent was right about that!  But, I explained, I'm not living overseas or earning money overseas, so why does it still get processed through the international office?  Because that's how they've always done it.  Gee, swell.  So I get told if I have still heard nothing, call back in 2 weeks.

Fast forward a few months, and many many phone calls later......our summer trip to PEI had come and gone, and still no return.....

After a few phone calls, I finally managed to speak to a lovely lady in the international office.  Oh, how's this for ironic - whenever I called the tax dept, I would speak with someone with a heavy foreign accent.  But when I spoke to someone from the international office, they always had a Canadian accent.  hahahaha  Anyway, back to my saga.  The lovely lady gave me her direct line to call for updates, which was very handy.  And she took the time to explain the long drawn out process.  So what they do with anyone new to the country, they put a request out to every country to see if you're earning money there, and then have to wait to get a response back (not sure if it was every single country, or just countries i had lived in - doesn't matter, its a slow process anyway).  So finally, she tells me that everything is in order, and that my return can now be lodged.  WHAT????

So now I find out that this whole time was spent simply determining if I could legally lodge a tax return!!!  Seriously? I said to her, really, if I wasn't here legally, I wouldn't be stupid enough to lodge a tax return.  Apparently not all foreigners think like me, and it is surprising how many illegal people DO lodge a return!  But, I was told that it should be only a few more weeks now!  oh joy....

The long and short of it (who am I kidding, there was no SHORT in any of this story) it took just over 6 months to get my return!  But I was assured repeatedly that the next return would be MUCH faster!  Here's hoping....I have plans for that next return too....  :)

So the moral of the story....there isn't one.  Canadian taxes are confusing and you pay a lot of it.  End of story!  Actually, there was one good thing - children are worth a pretty decent tax break.  I should collect a few more of them!

Back to blogging...

Well, we've been in Canada for 2 years now, and I'm only about a year and half behind on my blogging!  Not bad for a procrastinator  :)

As much as we're loving our adventures here in Nova Scotia, I have once again been bitten by the travel bug, and feel its time to move on and check out some more of this amazing country. A few months ago, as I was umming and ahhing on whether its a good time to move on or not, I applied for a job that I really didn't think I would stand much chance of getting, for various reasons.  Well, wouldn't you know - Murphy's Law and all that - I got the job!  So that put an end to my constant procrastination, and it was time to put words into action and get started with planning our next move.

This also meant having the fun and joy of dealing with immigration and the screeds of paperwork again.  <sigh>

First step - applying for an Alberta nursing licence. No problems!  (Note to self - applying for ANYTHING over the Christmas break is a guaranteed headache of long waits.  Don't do it again!)  So after a few weeks of stressful angst, I was finally approved for my licence.

Next stop - the hospital in Alberta needed to apply for permission from the Government to hire me.  They couldn't do this step until they knew I would qualify for the nursing licence, hence the stress.  And I can't apply for the work permit without this letter of permission.

Thankfully the gods were on my side, and this came through relatively quickly!  Woohoo!!  So now I could apply for my work permit.  The application was quickly filled in, the usual stupid questions, making sure I'm not a psychopath or going to cause any problems for the country.  This time around, I was eligible to apply online - so that made the process slightly easier.  Of course, now I get to sit back for the next few weeks stressing if I completed it all correctly, did I upload all the forms correctly, does my crappy passport photo meet the right criteria., etc, etc, etc.  But hey, whats my life without a little teeny bit of stress, right?

So now I'm playing the waiting game.  I think this is more stressful than anything else.  I can't plan for anything, I can't hand my notice in, I can't terminate my rental agreement, I can't do anything without having my work permit confirmed or a start date set.  All I can do is sit and wait.....  I'm not good at sitting and waiting really.  But I'm also too chicken to take the risk and just resign from my job and my apartment and fingers crossed, hope for the work permit to be approved at the right time!

So watch this space - I have weeks up my sleeve to stress about HOW I'm going to get to Alberta!  Do I drive, do I fly, take the train, sell my stuff, move my stuff....decisions decisions...