PEInniversary

My First PEI Beach.  April 2008

This past week marked my first full year as a resident of PEI.  It seems like the year just flew by but then when I look back at the winter it seems like it really dragged.  I've been wracking my brain trying to decide if it was a good year or a bad year.  When I arrived I knew no one here, my lab was a room filled with boxes, I was stuck in tiny downtown Charlottetown because of my lack of a car and had to deal with a bigger culture shock than I was expecting. I am slowly getting used to the local customs although I still complain about the lack of Sunday shopping.  I am no longer amazed that people here know what seafood is in-season and when the actual seasons begin (Lobster season just began last week and prices are extremely low so I might be indulging a little more this summer).  The laid back lifestyle is readily apparent, (I have had to call my landlord on two different occasions to tell him that I have not paid rent and I owe him cheques.  Right now I don't even have a lease!  He doesn't seem to worried about it) On the work front I feel like the company is on the verge of turning the corner from R&D to actually being on the market.  We have expanded into a second lab,  we are moving into a bigger office (still now window) and I have 300 business cards that I am dying to get rid of.  My algae has suffered through a few contaminant issues but they are still very green.  Personally I feel a lot more comfortable here.  My co-workers are a lot of fun and great to hang out with inside and outside of work.  I am about to get a car so my mobility will increase exponentially.  I assume this will allow me to take advantage of the many beeches and golf courses.

I still miss all my family and friends back in Toronto...but i'm not sure if I miss the Big City Lifestyle.  I definitely miss the public transit, exciting night life, the live music scene and "stuff-to-do" levels.  I don't miss the congestion in general, ten-digit dialing, construction and the boring-coloured gables.

Anyway,  I hope I have a better second year.

Me hanging out (of a car) in PEI, April 2009