Day 23: Blind River, Ontario
10 years ago
Friday, March 14, 2014
Will you stay or will you move
I just wanted to do a little poll to see if the people who live in Quebec are think of staying or leaving the province after the elections, here you go:
Are you considering moving out of Quebec?
If you have another answer leave in the comments section.
Tuesday, October 15, 2013
With the bad comes the good
Today I was laid off. Although it was not a big surprise, I was startled like most people would be. I am neither angry nor resentful, I am mostly looking forward to what lies ahead, the challenges to overcome and experiences to learn from.
I worked for this company for a little over a year, had great colleagues and made good friends. I overcame some obstacles and was part of some very good and challenging projects. I also learned a lot, improved some skills and learned some others.
The brightest part of it all is that I was able to spend the day with my wife and daughter and that I will be able to spend the day with my daughter tomorrow when she turns two months old.
Now we move on, I will continue to pursue new challenges and find a job that will keep me on my toes as much as I will find it rewarding and fulfilling.
So here's were you come in, if you are looking for a trilingual business major in Montreal (or anywhere in Canada) with experience in purchasing, project management, customer service, inventory management and some other experience, this is your time to let me know. I am sure that my unemployed status will not last, so hurry up and contact me!
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Mexico - How is your conscience?
Si conoces a alguien que consume drogas ilegales, compra cosas piratas, acostumbra dar mordidas, no respeta las leyes, se ríe de los que sí lo hacen, busca siempre su beneficio sin importarle el de los demás, recuerdale de los 40 mil muertos en México y pregúntale si no le pesa la conciencia...
If you know someone who consumes illegal drugs, buys pirated goods, is corrupt, does not respect the law, laughs at those who do, looks for his own benefit without caring for others, I ask you to remind them of the 40 thousand dead people in Mexico's crime war and ask them if their conscience is clear...
I recently wrote this on Facebook, because I am sad, disappointed and afraid that people just do not care, that they feel defeated and think they are not the problem and cannot be part of the solution. I am afraid of the feeling of defeat that people are walking with. I believe we can start by changing ourselves to influence others and to make them believe that change starts from within.
People use to think that this was just a battle against drugs and the drug cartels, but it is much more than that. This drug cartels not only control the drug traffic and sales in Mexico, they also control piracy, human trafficking, government officials, and many other things.
So stop justifying yourself when you buy a pirated movie by saying they are too expensive, because if that is the case for you, then, it is not for you, you are not part of the target market. Stop saying that you buy pirated movies because the movie industry makes too much money, if that is the case do not buy the product, your biggest vote is with your money, and not giving them your money is better than stealing their product. Stop saying I'll just give money to a government official this one time to get out of a traffic ticket (this may not happen in the US and Canada but it sure happens everyday in Mexico), or to get a contract (construction, maintenance, goods, services, etc.) from the government.
So ask yourself if your conscience is clear... And once it is, ask the same question to your neighbor.
If you know someone who consumes illegal drugs, buys pirated goods, is corrupt, does not respect the law, laughs at those who do, looks for his own benefit without caring for others, I ask you to remind them of the 40 thousand dead people in Mexico's crime war and ask them if their conscience is clear...
I recently wrote this on Facebook, because I am sad, disappointed and afraid that people just do not care, that they feel defeated and think they are not the problem and cannot be part of the solution. I am afraid of the feeling of defeat that people are walking with. I believe we can start by changing ourselves to influence others and to make them believe that change starts from within.
People use to think that this was just a battle against drugs and the drug cartels, but it is much more than that. This drug cartels not only control the drug traffic and sales in Mexico, they also control piracy, human trafficking, government officials, and many other things.
So stop justifying yourself when you buy a pirated movie by saying they are too expensive, because if that is the case for you, then, it is not for you, you are not part of the target market. Stop saying that you buy pirated movies because the movie industry makes too much money, if that is the case do not buy the product, your biggest vote is with your money, and not giving them your money is better than stealing their product. Stop saying I'll just give money to a government official this one time to get out of a traffic ticket (this may not happen in the US and Canada but it sure happens everyday in Mexico), or to get a contract (construction, maintenance, goods, services, etc.) from the government.
So ask yourself if your conscience is clear... And once it is, ask the same question to your neighbor.
Monday, August 1, 2011
Montreal is falling apart...
Yesterday morning a part of a tunnel in the Ville-Marie 720 highway in downtown Montreal collapsed, making that part of the highway another traffic hell for which Montreal is becoming famous for. There is the Mercier bridge, the Champlain bridge, the Turcot interchange and the overpass in Laval that already fell down, and now this.
After this I can't understand why is it so hard to find out who commissioned the construction, who the constructor was, what was the estimated lifespan of the construction, when should a new construction be planned and started by, who was supposed to be inspecting the construction and during the lifespan, who gave the green light, who was in charge of upkeep, etc. Then get all those people in court and put whoever is responsible for the damages in jail.
There are probably too many "friendships" and money on the table and changing hands under it to make this happen. Also, the blame game would never end, but I hope that at least the people that built, upkeep, inspect, commission all these constructions remember that they too will have to cross the Champlain bridge, go over the Turcot interchange and under the Ville-Marie tunnels, and hope that something does not fail when them or their families are on them.
After this I can't understand why is it so hard to find out who commissioned the construction, who the constructor was, what was the estimated lifespan of the construction, when should a new construction be planned and started by, who was supposed to be inspecting the construction and during the lifespan, who gave the green light, who was in charge of upkeep, etc. Then get all those people in court and put whoever is responsible for the damages in jail.
There are probably too many "friendships" and money on the table and changing hands under it to make this happen. Also, the blame game would never end, but I hope that at least the people that built, upkeep, inspect, commission all these constructions remember that they too will have to cross the Champlain bridge, go over the Turcot interchange and under the Ville-Marie tunnels, and hope that something does not fail when them or their families are on them.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Iphone misses 2
Here are some other things I would greatly appreciate on the new iOS.
Profiles: this is where you should be able to program different profiles for you settings. You could have a profile for when you go to bed, where only the phone and/or text messages work, one for meetings where only certain calls would ring or vibrate, a movie profile where everything is on except for all sounds (which could be turned on by the mute button as an option), a car profile where Bluetooth is on and connects to the car, etc. It would be sort of like the sounds settings on Blackberry but for everything, Wi-Fi, sounds, texts, Bluetooth, notifications, location services, 3G on/off, etc. For this one I will give you an example that happened yesterday: my wife wanted to leave her iPhone in an "only receive calls mode" last night, so she had to go to Settings>General>Network and turn off "Cellular Data," then from there go to >Wi-Fi and turn it off, then go back to Setting>Sounds and turn off Vibrate, New Voicemail and New Mail (all others where allready off), then click on Text Tone and select "None," this just takes too long, when you could just program this once and select "bedtime profile" and be done with it.
Sounds: one of the things that I think Apple has overlooked is the lack of good sounds (ringtones) that can be used for texts, mail, calendar, etc., we should at the very least be able to use the same that are available for calls and alarms. Also there should be an option to mute all apps, it's really annoying that for some apps they don't have a setting for muting it.
Ringtones: ringtones should be "free," having to buy a song two times to use it as a ringtone is way too greedy even for Apple. Most competitors let you use any .mp3 file as a ringtone, but I guess if you can squeeze an extra dollar or two from customers, why not? There is a workaround for this, where you can turn your unlocked songs into ringtones without having to pay for a song twice. Here's a link on how to do that from eHow.
Alarm from playlist: this is available on my 60GB iPod but not on my iPhone. This one baffles me, why wouldn't they include that option? The only answer that seems reasonable to me, was to make more people developers, so that these people would come in, "cover the needs of the market" with the missing feature and Apple gets 30% from the app, if its a paid app, plus the 99 dollars from the iOS developer program. It makes sense.
This last one is a bit far fetched and not really needed, but it would be nice to have this option:
Auto On/Off feature: this was (is, since I still, stupidly, own a Blackberry) one of my favorite features. If you're the kind of person that wants to have their mails on their inbox when you wake up, then this one is awesome, since you could program your phone to turn on 3G or Wi-Fi (or a profile) a couple of minutes before your alarms goes off, that way you don't have to wait for the phone to be turned on. But I do have to say that "turning on" the iPhone and updating you emails takes way less time than it does on a Blackberry, and by turning on I mean switching off Airplane Mode, since the alarm wont work if you turn it all the way off unlike with the Blackberry, where setting an alarm will also turn the phone on. Just to be clear: the Auto On/Off feature on a Blackberry only turns the phone on and off at the desired times, it doesn't allow you to chose profiles. But since turning the iPhone all the way down make the alarm feature disabled that's why I suggest a "Profile Selection Auto On/Off" feature.
Although I'm bashing Apple for all the thing I consider somewhat basic that are not included in their product I do give them the thumbs up on the phone, it's an amazing tool, where there are definitely more pros than cons in my book. But it would be nice to see some of these "basic" features added into the new iOS.
Profiles: this is where you should be able to program different profiles for you settings. You could have a profile for when you go to bed, where only the phone and/or text messages work, one for meetings where only certain calls would ring or vibrate, a movie profile where everything is on except for all sounds (which could be turned on by the mute button as an option), a car profile where Bluetooth is on and connects to the car, etc. It would be sort of like the sounds settings on Blackberry but for everything, Wi-Fi, sounds, texts, Bluetooth, notifications, location services, 3G on/off, etc. For this one I will give you an example that happened yesterday: my wife wanted to leave her iPhone in an "only receive calls mode" last night, so she had to go to Settings>General>Network and turn off "Cellular Data," then from there go to >Wi-Fi and turn it off, then go back to Setting>Sounds and turn off Vibrate, New Voicemail and New Mail (all others where allready off), then click on Text Tone and select "None," this just takes too long, when you could just program this once and select "bedtime profile" and be done with it.
Sounds: one of the things that I think Apple has overlooked is the lack of good sounds (ringtones) that can be used for texts, mail, calendar, etc., we should at the very least be able to use the same that are available for calls and alarms. Also there should be an option to mute all apps, it's really annoying that for some apps they don't have a setting for muting it.
Ringtones: ringtones should be "free," having to buy a song two times to use it as a ringtone is way too greedy even for Apple. Most competitors let you use any .mp3 file as a ringtone, but I guess if you can squeeze an extra dollar or two from customers, why not? There is a workaround for this, where you can turn your unlocked songs into ringtones without having to pay for a song twice. Here's a link on how to do that from eHow.
Alarm from playlist: this is available on my 60GB iPod but not on my iPhone. This one baffles me, why wouldn't they include that option? The only answer that seems reasonable to me, was to make more people developers, so that these people would come in, "cover the needs of the market" with the missing feature and Apple gets 30% from the app, if its a paid app, plus the 99 dollars from the iOS developer program. It makes sense.
This last one is a bit far fetched and not really needed, but it would be nice to have this option:
Auto On/Off feature: this was (is, since I still, stupidly, own a Blackberry) one of my favorite features. If you're the kind of person that wants to have their mails on their inbox when you wake up, then this one is awesome, since you could program your phone to turn on 3G or Wi-Fi (or a profile) a couple of minutes before your alarms goes off, that way you don't have to wait for the phone to be turned on. But I do have to say that "turning on" the iPhone and updating you emails takes way less time than it does on a Blackberry, and by turning on I mean switching off Airplane Mode, since the alarm wont work if you turn it all the way off unlike with the Blackberry, where setting an alarm will also turn the phone on. Just to be clear: the Auto On/Off feature on a Blackberry only turns the phone on and off at the desired times, it doesn't allow you to chose profiles. But since turning the iPhone all the way down make the alarm feature disabled that's why I suggest a "Profile Selection Auto On/Off" feature.
Although I'm bashing Apple for all the thing I consider somewhat basic that are not included in their product I do give them the thumbs up on the phone, it's an amazing tool, where there are definitely more pros than cons in my book. But it would be nice to see some of these "basic" features added into the new iOS.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Iphone misses
I'm not a programmer or a computer guru, but I do think of myself as a technology oriented person. I like the fact that I don't need to carry a camera, a cellphone and a mp3 player and instead I use my iPhone for all these tasks and more. Although the iPhone does way more things (if you include the apps available to download and/or purchase) than one person could possibly need or use, there are some basic things I believe they have missed:
Tasks: I really get annoyed of the fact that there is no task feature on the iPhone, I use to have a Blackberry that did task management and synced them to my PC when the first iPhone came out. We're now on the 4th generation of Apple phones and they can't seem to get that included, although there are some very good apps that do the job, this one should be one that comes "in the box".
Calendar: there are two fixes that I believe should be addressed in this app, first the "location" field in the calendar app is very misleading since to get a link to a map on this app you have to write the address on the "notes" field. And there is no contact link or field, so if you need to add someone to a calendar you need to do it somewhere else (directly on Gmail for example), or write their name and contact info on the "notes" field as well, this would be better addressed in a "Tasks" app since calling a contact is more of a task unless is a 2 hour conference call, for which you probably won't use you iPhone anyway. But the option of including and/or inviting people to events through calendars should be there.
iPhone messenger: this one is probably not done because of the pressure of the phone companies to lose all the money the make through text messages, but if you see the success of Whatsapp or Blackberry messenger, then I don't see why not to have one exclusive to the iPhone (or throughout the Apple brand), since they love the "only compatible between Apple products" line of business.
Keychain: password software is very useful and it should come with the iPhone, once again I can go back to my Blackberry to prove my point, had it 3 years ago.
Camera: included QR code reader, those codes are starting to appear everywhere. Although there are some apps that do the job, it would be easier to do it from the camera app.
Home screen: I hadn't really though about it until I read CNET's 20 things the iPhone 5 should have or we want it to have or something like that, but one of those things was a home screen where you can see the time, weather, calendar, missed calls, emails, etc., the picture they show is spot on. The Blackberry I had 3 years ago did have an option for a screen like that, except for the weather, but it was very useful to see upcoming events, tasks, messages, and emails right there on the home screen.
There are probably more that I am forgetting, but for now this is what I would like Apple to include in the next iOS, since these don't need a hardware upgrade.
Tasks: I really get annoyed of the fact that there is no task feature on the iPhone, I use to have a Blackberry that did task management and synced them to my PC when the first iPhone came out. We're now on the 4th generation of Apple phones and they can't seem to get that included, although there are some very good apps that do the job, this one should be one that comes "in the box".
Calendar: there are two fixes that I believe should be addressed in this app, first the "location" field in the calendar app is very misleading since to get a link to a map on this app you have to write the address on the "notes" field. And there is no contact link or field, so if you need to add someone to a calendar you need to do it somewhere else (directly on Gmail for example), or write their name and contact info on the "notes" field as well, this would be better addressed in a "Tasks" app since calling a contact is more of a task unless is a 2 hour conference call, for which you probably won't use you iPhone anyway. But the option of including and/or inviting people to events through calendars should be there.
iPhone messenger: this one is probably not done because of the pressure of the phone companies to lose all the money the make through text messages, but if you see the success of Whatsapp or Blackberry messenger, then I don't see why not to have one exclusive to the iPhone (or throughout the Apple brand), since they love the "only compatible between Apple products" line of business.
Keychain: password software is very useful and it should come with the iPhone, once again I can go back to my Blackberry to prove my point, had it 3 years ago.
Camera: included QR code reader, those codes are starting to appear everywhere. Although there are some apps that do the job, it would be easier to do it from the camera app.
Home screen: I hadn't really though about it until I read CNET's 20 things the iPhone 5 should have or we want it to have or something like that, but one of those things was a home screen where you can see the time, weather, calendar, missed calls, emails, etc., the picture they show is spot on. The Blackberry I had 3 years ago did have an option for a screen like that, except for the weather, but it was very useful to see upcoming events, tasks, messages, and emails right there on the home screen.
There are probably more that I am forgetting, but for now this is what I would like Apple to include in the next iOS, since these don't need a hardware upgrade.
Monday, March 21, 2011
Antecedentes no penales 3
Al fin recibí una respuesta digna de una dependencia de gobierno. Esperando recibir la misma respuesta que antes, fui sorprendido con esta respuesta:
At´n. Henri Paul
Para la obtención de la constancia de no antecedentes penales, debe acudir a la policía local para la toma de huellas y una vez obtenido este documento solicita a la embajada la expedición de dicha constancia para que a través un familiar pueda realizar el trámite aquí en Puebla, con su documentación:
1. Acta de nacimiento
2. Identificación oficial con fotografía (IFE, CARTILLA DEL SERVICIO MILITAR, PASAPORTE VIGENTE, LICENCIA PARA CONDUCIR
3. Comprobante de domicilio
4. Dos fotografías a color recientes, de frente, tamaño cartilla 4.5 x 3.5 cm.
5. Costo $ 200
Av. 10 oriente 414, Col. Centro
De lunes a viernes de 08:00 a 14:00 hrs.
Tel. (222) 2328625 / 2324316 / 2328926 / 2326677
Esperamos que la información sea de utilidad.
Atentamente.
Teléfono: 01 800 20 15 081
Página electrónica: www.tramitapue.pue.gob.mx
Correo electrónico: tramitapue.sedecap@puebla.gob.
Horario de atención de lunes a viernes de 08:00 a 16:00 hrs.
No sé si esta respuesta, la cual coincide con la información del consulado, se deba a que fue otra persona la que me respondió o se deba al cambio de gobierno reciente. Sea cual sea la razón, les agradezco por hacer su trabajo como todos lo deberían hacer. Esto es prueba de que hacer las cosas bien en México sí es posible.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Police brutality Montreal 2011
Police brutality is a crime and should be punished. Citizens are in the right to protest it.
Tuesday March 15th, 2011, in Montreal the annual protest against police brutality was held. I was not there but I have read several articles about what happened, watched several TV news reports, watched several YouTube videos (from this year and previous years), and heard a partial account from my brother in law who was there.
In the newspapers and on the TV news reports they said that about 258 people were arrested, that they played the "usual cat and mouse game" (cyberpresse.ca), that a few people within the 500 people there where causing trouble and the rest were not causing any problems. In the YouTube videos I could see that everything was calm in some of the videos and in others the police where arresting some people, which in most cases refused to be arrested. It was also reported that a bystander was hit in the face with a thrown bottle. From what I heard through my brother in law was that even some bystanders were arrested for no reason and at least one person was beaten for "not reacting fast enough."
In my head having a rally against police brutality that is going to be surveyed by that same police is a time bomb, it just takes one person, on either side, to make the situation get out of hand. Furthermore if you look at the videos from previous years you can see people throwing things at the police, yelling "fuck the police", destroying public property (mailboxes and trashcans mostly) and in some cases throwing snow and other stuff at the police and you see the police arresting people, pushing them away and in some cases with more force than needed and sometimes with way more force than needed, but there are some cases that they reacted how I would expect.
If you are trying to protest to someone "peacefully" you don't yell "fuck you," to me, that's when it stops being a peaceful demonstration, if you are insulting then you are already being verbally aggressive, in other words violent. If to this, you add the throwing of rocks and paintballs at police and at public and private property then it doesn't surprise me that the police started arresting people. I know that the rocks and paintballs are isolated events, and it does not represent most of the people there, but it only takes one person and one thrown rock (or paintball) to defeat the purpose of the "peaceful protest."
The moment the first window was broken is reason enough to stop the protest and start arresting people, the thing is that the police do not know how many people are going to follow the lead of the person who threw the first rock, and from what I saw from previous years it could easily and rapidly get out of hand. If the people are really there to make a public peaceful stand against police brutality and are there because they do not agree with violence, then to me, it would be a stronger statement, that, when that first rock was thrown, for them to disperse and finish the protest, it would make more sense to say "we do not endorse ANY kind of violence" than to continue and wait and see how the police react. I feel that to some extent, the people there want to prove their point, so if the police arrest some people and are more violent than they should then it's a won battle for the protesters who could then say "look at the police being violent, that is why we did this in the first place."
I don't agree that police should profile people, arrest them without cause, intimidate with violence, abuse their power, use excess force, but if you are on the street yelling "fuck the police" to their face and you know that some of the people who are with you are not going to be peaceful, then I think it's very naive to think that there are not going to be reactions from the other side and to act surprised when it does happen. I am not trying to say that people should not protest against police brutality and violence, but at least be consistent with what you say and what you do.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Antecedentes no penales 2
El tiempo pasa y el día en el que me van a solicitar mis "Constancias de No Antecedentes Penales" y/o "Constancia de Antecedentes Registrales" se acerca. Después de un dilema de comunicación entre Immigration Canada y yo, el cual pueden ver aquí, existe otro, pero ahora es con el Estado de Puebla, en México.
Queriendo adelantarme a lo que está por venir estoy empezando a hacer algunas cosas que me podrían ayudar a no atrasar o incluso a adelantar el proceso. Dentro de estas cosas está empezar a mandar mi CV, conseguir las constancias de no antecedentes penales, buscar trabajo, hacer voluntariado, entre otras. En este post me enfocaré en las constancias de no antecedentes penales.
Empecemos por el principio, ¿quién solicita el documento? - Immigration Canada, así que fui a su sitio donde te dicen que hacer con respecto a este procedimiento, que mandar y a donde, al menos para lo que corresponde al trámite federal. Para el trámite estatal te mandan al sitio del estado donde vayas a realizar el trámite, así que en mi caso al del Estado de Puebla.
Al mismo tiempo que veía la lista de solicitud de documentos, fui al sitio del Consulado de México en Montreal, donde te dicen que tienes que hacer para estos documentos. Y fue cuando comparé estos dos sitios que surgió el problema. En el sitio del consulado dice que ellos emiten una carta dirigida al Procurador de Justicia del Estado de Puebla y sellan copias de tus documentos para validar que fueron cotejados con original, esto lo mandas junto con una carta poder y la persona a la que le otorgas el poder realiza el trámite en Puebla. Hasta ahí todo bien, pero al entrar al sitio del Gobierno del Estado de Puebla y encontrar el trámite de no antecedentes penales me di cuenta que decía que sólo se puede realizar el trámite en persona, por lo que decidí mandar un correo a tramitapue.sedecap@puebla.gob.mx, que es el correo que ellos proporcionan y se los mandé con la simple duda que cómo realizo el trámite fuera de México a lo que me contestaron:
"A quien corresponda.
"
"
Queriendo adelantarme a lo que está por venir estoy empezando a hacer algunas cosas que me podrían ayudar a no atrasar o incluso a adelantar el proceso. Dentro de estas cosas está empezar a mandar mi CV, conseguir las constancias de no antecedentes penales, buscar trabajo, hacer voluntariado, entre otras. En este post me enfocaré en las constancias de no antecedentes penales.
Empecemos por el principio, ¿quién solicita el documento? - Immigration Canada, así que fui a su sitio donde te dicen que hacer con respecto a este procedimiento, que mandar y a donde, al menos para lo que corresponde al trámite federal. Para el trámite estatal te mandan al sitio del estado donde vayas a realizar el trámite, así que en mi caso al del Estado de Puebla.
Al mismo tiempo que veía la lista de solicitud de documentos, fui al sitio del Consulado de México en Montreal, donde te dicen que tienes que hacer para estos documentos. Y fue cuando comparé estos dos sitios que surgió el problema. En el sitio del consulado dice que ellos emiten una carta dirigida al Procurador de Justicia del Estado de Puebla y sellan copias de tus documentos para validar que fueron cotejados con original, esto lo mandas junto con una carta poder y la persona a la que le otorgas el poder realiza el trámite en Puebla. Hasta ahí todo bien, pero al entrar al sitio del Gobierno del Estado de Puebla y encontrar el trámite de no antecedentes penales me di cuenta que decía que sólo se puede realizar el trámite en persona, por lo que decidí mandar un correo a tramitapue.sedecap@puebla.gob.mx, que es el correo que ellos proporcionan y se los mandé con la simple duda que cómo realizo el trámite fuera de México a lo que me contestaron:
"A quien corresponda.
Para la expedición de la constancia de no antecedentes penales, es obligatorio presentarse el interesado.
Esperamos que la información sea de utilidad.
Atentamente.
Después de esta respuesta les expliqué mi situación, diciendo que no podía salir de Canadá, que invalidaría todo lo que hemos hecho mi esposa y yo a la fecha respecto al trámite de residencia permanente y que perdería todo el dinero que hemos pagado a la fecha, esperando que posiblemente la persona que me contestó pudiera investigar un poco con sus superiores que hacer en este caso, porque quiero suponer que no soy un pionero en esto y en algún lugar del planeta en un pasado no muy lejano hubo otra persona (o varias) de Puebla que necesitaba el mismo documento sin poder salir del país en el que se encontraba. A lo que recibí esta magnifica respuesta, digna sólo de la burocracia mexicana:
"Esto debe verificarlo directamente en el Consulado de México.
Así tal cual fue la respuesta. Estos correo los mandé entre el 28 y 29 de enero de 2011, lo cual los pone justo dentro de la transición de gobernador en Puebla, o más bien, a finales del ciclo marinista. No sé si la gente haya cambiado pero he vuelto a mandar otro correo para ver si me pueden dar otra respuesta más clara.
Lo que más me impresiona es que vivimos en la era de la tecnología y aún no podemos integrar una base de datos nacional, en donde se pueda tener acceso a los antecedentes penales a nivel nacional y no estaría de más dar acceso a los consulados para agilizar este tipo de trámites. Con esto lograríamos que con uno baste, el federal obviamente, y que no tengamos que hacer dos trámites separados, aparte de ahorrarnos dinero. Seguro hay muchas razones (excusas, pretextos, dinero, tranzas, favores, o una combinación de estos) por la cual no se ha hecho, pero eso es para otro día.
PD. Sí se pueden mandar CVs mientras recibes los documentos, sólo que no te pueden contratar, obviamente. Esta información me la dieron por teléfono los de Immigration Canada.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Leaking ceiling (cont.)
A little late, but you might want to know...
1. Get someone to fix the problem (could be the insurance, a contractor, a friend, etc.). Just be sure that they are going to do a good job, be the cheapest (for what you want to get, there is no such thing as super cheap and super good at the same time... stop thinking about it, there just isn't), and that you could fit it in your schedule (most people are gonna charge you more for a weekend job or are just not going to do it, you want to rest on the weekend, well guess what, so do they).
2. Be sure to talk to your neighbors, the previous point is from your side, but if you don't fix the source it's stupid to fix effect of it (most politicians do that anyway, but that's another days topic or more like rant). This is also the way to see who's to "blame" for the problem, although there might not be someone to blame, someone has to pay, so check that with them. In our case, since the place is not ours, we just left this part to our landlord (they should change this word to a more non-feudalistic sounding word).
Turns out our problem was easy to fix, the upstairs apartment had a sealant problem in the shower, so they just got someone to seal all their sinks and the shower. And we got (through our friend and landlord and with the help of the neighbors) a contractor to remove the damage, plaster and paint it. But be sure that if this ever happens to you, you should always have someone check if there is any kind of insulation material in between the floors, because if there is they have to either remove and dry or replace this material so that there is no mold problem afterwards.
So that what the big adventure. It took a couple of weeks to get it fixed, but it probably was way less exiting or bothersome than it sounds.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
What to do with a leaking ceiling in Montreal at 6:30 am
1. If you're not on the top floor, wake up your upstairs neighbor. If you are go to the roof to see if there is a problem.
2. Apologize for waking them up while explaining (in French) that you have a leaking ceiling and that you are pretty sure the source is their apartment.
3. Have them tell you that everything is dry, killing your hopes that they might just left the water running and knowing that eventually someone is going to "destroy" your ceiling, their floor, maybe some walls, and hopefully nothing else.
4. Show them that you actually do have a leak and wait while they call their parents on the phone to see what we should do next. Although we're supposed to be adults, none of us has any idea where to start. We know we should shut the water supply to the apartment, call the insurance company, call a plumber, keep and eye for more drips. But we need some reassurance, and since I'm not from Montreal, or Canada for that matter, I have no clue where to start, and since its not a normal occurance it's even worse.
5. Our neighbors dad tells her to tell me to call my insurance and to call hers. I do and they tell me a technician will call and be over. They tell her, somewhere along these lines: to hang up, it's too early, and that my insurance will contact hers if needed.
6. Pierce a hole on the pocket of water so it can drain. I would recommend to do this earlier, but that was one of the things her dad told us and we didn't think of before. Apparently it helps the water drain and stop accumulating, which is a good thing, if you didn't figure it out by now.
7. After an hour or so, while watching Sportscenter, having breakfast and waiting for that technician, you notice a strange silence in the room, and notice it stopped leaking (told you piercing the pocket of water was a good idea).
8. Tell the neighbor it stopped leaking. Make yourself believe you have solved the enigma narrowing it down to the hot water, since it's the only one we shut off, because we weren't sure which one was their cold water.
9. Reopen the hot water so my neighbor can take a quick shower, and while she does it leaks again. Eureka! It is the hot water.
10. Let her know your discovery.
11. The technician arrives and tells us, they fix everything except the source of the problem, that has to be payed by the Owners Union (Syndicat de Propietaire, or something like that in French). He also says we need to call a plumber to get the source fixed, and that he should come after they do, to later say its better if the plumber fixes the problem first.
12. Go on a plumber searching spree, while the neighbor looks for the insurance info for the building. Get quotes from plumbers, and find out they also charge for the time it takes them to get here, which is weird, cause they could say it took them one hour and screw you over (that is my Mexican skepticism speaking/writing).
13. Remember that since it leaked the last time we haven`t shut off the hot water, and rethink of that Eureka moment you had, and whether it might have all been too easy of a solution. Find out that when she took her shower, other neighbors where taking showers and using water in their apartments at the same time, so we decided to run test. Open and close all showers, faucets, flush toilets, etc., from ALL the occupied apartments in our building, to notice that it not leaking anymore. F***, I was wrong, it's not the hot water.
14. It's been a while since the ceiling stopped leaking, so our neighbor's dad suggested we wait 24 hours to see if it would start leaking and if it does to try and find which apartment was using water and where, so we can better inform the plumber and maybe (this is a very important maybe), have him just break the ceiling, floor and/or wall where the problem is or where it might be.
15. Wait for a leakage to happen.
16. You should also contact the building's insurance (Syndicat the Propietaires) to see if they can send a plumber or if it's you who calls one and get reimbursed. Finding out that you won't get reimbursed after you payed will suck big time.
I think that is it so far. If anything unexpected should come up I will post it. If not, then I will post "la suite" tomorrow, and lets hope tomorrow is the end of this event.
2. Apologize for waking them up while explaining (in French) that you have a leaking ceiling and that you are pretty sure the source is their apartment.
3. Have them tell you that everything is dry, killing your hopes that they might just left the water running and knowing that eventually someone is going to "destroy" your ceiling, their floor, maybe some walls, and hopefully nothing else.
4. Show them that you actually do have a leak and wait while they call their parents on the phone to see what we should do next. Although we're supposed to be adults, none of us has any idea where to start. We know we should shut the water supply to the apartment, call the insurance company, call a plumber, keep and eye for more drips. But we need some reassurance, and since I'm not from Montreal, or Canada for that matter, I have no clue where to start, and since its not a normal occurance it's even worse.
5. Our neighbors dad tells her to tell me to call my insurance and to call hers. I do and they tell me a technician will call and be over. They tell her, somewhere along these lines: to hang up, it's too early, and that my insurance will contact hers if needed.
6. Pierce a hole on the pocket of water so it can drain. I would recommend to do this earlier, but that was one of the things her dad told us and we didn't think of before. Apparently it helps the water drain and stop accumulating, which is a good thing, if you didn't figure it out by now.
7. After an hour or so, while watching Sportscenter, having breakfast and waiting for that technician, you notice a strange silence in the room, and notice it stopped leaking (told you piercing the pocket of water was a good idea).
8. Tell the neighbor it stopped leaking. Make yourself believe you have solved the enigma narrowing it down to the hot water, since it's the only one we shut off, because we weren't sure which one was their cold water.
9. Reopen the hot water so my neighbor can take a quick shower, and while she does it leaks again. Eureka! It is the hot water.
10. Let her know your discovery.
11. The technician arrives and tells us, they fix everything except the source of the problem, that has to be payed by the Owners Union (Syndicat de Propietaire, or something like that in French). He also says we need to call a plumber to get the source fixed, and that he should come after they do, to later say its better if the plumber fixes the problem first.
12. Go on a plumber searching spree, while the neighbor looks for the insurance info for the building. Get quotes from plumbers, and find out they also charge for the time it takes them to get here, which is weird, cause they could say it took them one hour and screw you over (that is my Mexican skepticism speaking/writing).
13. Remember that since it leaked the last time we haven`t shut off the hot water, and rethink of that Eureka moment you had, and whether it might have all been too easy of a solution. Find out that when she took her shower, other neighbors where taking showers and using water in their apartments at the same time, so we decided to run test. Open and close all showers, faucets, flush toilets, etc., from ALL the occupied apartments in our building, to notice that it not leaking anymore. F***, I was wrong, it's not the hot water.
14. It's been a while since the ceiling stopped leaking, so our neighbor's dad suggested we wait 24 hours to see if it would start leaking and if it does to try and find which apartment was using water and where, so we can better inform the plumber and maybe (this is a very important maybe), have him just break the ceiling, floor and/or wall where the problem is or where it might be.
15. Wait for a leakage to happen.
16. You should also contact the building's insurance (Syndicat the Propietaires) to see if they can send a plumber or if it's you who calls one and get reimbursed. Finding out that you won't get reimbursed after you payed will suck big time.
I think that is it so far. If anything unexpected should come up I will post it. If not, then I will post "la suite" tomorrow, and lets hope tomorrow is the end of this event.
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Cool bus guy
Today:
-Left about 10 mins later than usual.
-It was raining (not too much) and it was a little cold.
-Walked about 5 mins with a hockey bag and sticks to take the bus to go play hockey.
-Waited about 10 mins for the bus.
-The bus took about 40 mins to get to my stop, unlike the usual 20 mins because there was an accident and we had to take a detour.
-Walked about 5 mins to get to the rink to find out there was a goalie playing today, it was the first time in three weeks we've had one and at the same time I found out that there was already 20 players on the ice, which meant I was too late (there is a 20 player limit).
-Walked about 10 mins to take the bus back (still raining).
-The bus came right away, 20 mins later I did my 10 min walk back home, still in the rain.
-Got home cold and wet.
Some people would add a FML after what I experienced, I've seen dumber ones on that site, some that seem more like MLIA than FML, anyway I won't, let me tell you why:
On the bus to the rink there was this awesome bus driver, that unlike many of them, said hi to every single person than came on the bus, even heard him complement a lady on her hairdo, he got people to give their seats for a couple of old ladies when the bus was almost full, and for a lady who had a recent operation. This is pretty cool for a fifty-something bus driver, but my favorite part is that he announces every stop with the street name, the buses that leave from that corner and if there's something cool on the street like a restaurant or something. He put a smile on pretty much everyone's face on that bus.
It was also pretty cool how he apologized to everyone that got on the bus after the detour, because the bus took too long to get to the stop and he felt "malheureux" (unfortunate) for the people that paid for the service even though they had to wait a couple of minutes longer than usual for the service. He also explained that it took longer due to an accident and was very sorry that a "detour route" had not been put into place sooner, even though it was the first bus that knew of the accident.
I always thought that one's actions can influence the lives of others, but it was amazing how this guys makes pretty much everyone on the bus either get a smile when they get in or when they hear him announce the next stop. For some people it might take more than that to make them smile, but I hope he inspires more people than myself to see that even a crappy day has its ups and not just downs.
-Left about 10 mins later than usual.
-It was raining (not too much) and it was a little cold.
-Walked about 5 mins with a hockey bag and sticks to take the bus to go play hockey.
-Waited about 10 mins for the bus.
-The bus took about 40 mins to get to my stop, unlike the usual 20 mins because there was an accident and we had to take a detour.
-Walked about 5 mins to get to the rink to find out there was a goalie playing today, it was the first time in three weeks we've had one and at the same time I found out that there was already 20 players on the ice, which meant I was too late (there is a 20 player limit).
-Walked about 10 mins to take the bus back (still raining).
-The bus came right away, 20 mins later I did my 10 min walk back home, still in the rain.
-Got home cold and wet.
Some people would add a FML after what I experienced, I've seen dumber ones on that site, some that seem more like MLIA than FML, anyway I won't, let me tell you why:
On the bus to the rink there was this awesome bus driver, that unlike many of them, said hi to every single person than came on the bus, even heard him complement a lady on her hairdo, he got people to give their seats for a couple of old ladies when the bus was almost full, and for a lady who had a recent operation. This is pretty cool for a fifty-something bus driver, but my favorite part is that he announces every stop with the street name, the buses that leave from that corner and if there's something cool on the street like a restaurant or something. He put a smile on pretty much everyone's face on that bus.
It was also pretty cool how he apologized to everyone that got on the bus after the detour, because the bus took too long to get to the stop and he felt "malheureux" (unfortunate) for the people that paid for the service even though they had to wait a couple of minutes longer than usual for the service. He also explained that it took longer due to an accident and was very sorry that a "detour route" had not been put into place sooner, even though it was the first bus that knew of the accident.
I always thought that one's actions can influence the lives of others, but it was amazing how this guys makes pretty much everyone on the bus either get a smile when they get in or when they hear him announce the next stop. For some people it might take more than that to make them smile, but I hope he inspires more people than myself to see that even a crappy day has its ups and not just downs.
Friday, October 29, 2010
Sports
It has only been two weeks since I started playing hockey in Canada, but I see several diferences to other sports I have played and where I have played them, including hockey itself.
Regarding hockey I have only really played with one team, players changed but still only one team. The friendship was there between some of the people playing and when others came they either already new someone on the team, making the integration easier, or they "earned" their place on the team and the teamate's respect and friendship. As always there are some that either didn't earn the respect or friendship and end up leaving, but you cannot like everyone all the time, and since it was not a matter of skills they would always make the team, that was not the problem.
Now I am playing in Montreal at a rink that offers pick up hockey on weekdays for 5 CAN (Canadian dollars), so I go there twice a week. The difference here is that no one tries to make the next one his friend, we do not talk to each other, we do not shake hands, we do not even know each other's name. Maybe it's cultural, and since we are only there to "play around" and not actually going anywhere, we are not a team and not in a league, we do not feel the urge to "unite" or even socialize; maybe it's just the second week of the season and as time passes people will open up; maybe it's the groups within the group, some people come with friends, stay with their friends, play with their friends, and leave with their friends, leaving the people that come solo, well solo; and maybe, since we are in Quebec, and there are French and English speaking people on the ice, it's the "natural" barrier between them that separates us all, who knows. Or maybe, if I was playing with a team it would be different.
On the other hand, I have played rugby, also in only one team. The difference was that in rugby, at least from my perspective, you go from friendship to teammate. Let me explain, you walk by the field, you see people playing rugby, you are interested in joining, you come closer to the field, someone from the team sees you, and either him or the person that is in charge of "talking to outsiders" (if you play rugby, you know what I mean, if you don't, find a rugby player and ask) comes to meet you and invite you to join. This is what we did in Aztecas RFC and it's what I experienced meeting a former teammate at his rugby practice with RCM here in Montreal, as soon as I put my bike down and came closer to the field, one guy asks me if I want to play rugby, I didn't join the team, but I am now playing hockey cosom (floor hockey) with them during the off-season, and making some friends, even though I'm not even in the team.
I have been playing both games for quite a while, and even though I'm a hockey freak to the bone and love it, I find the rugby all around feeling way more my thing. I remember when my good friend "Don Pinche Joe" (my hockey coach at the time) started the rugby team in Puebla he would say the same thing to me, and I just did not see it. Training rugby two or three times a week with very or almost no games, made hockey more attractive. We didn't have many games at hockey either, but at least enough people to play against each other once or twice a week. But after things started flowing, and the "third half" (if you don't understand, ask a rugby player) rugby parties started, I changed my mind about rugby, even tried bringing that spirit to my hockey team, but I guess there are only a few of us who can relate to both groups, since they didn't follow with the idea of parties quite like the rugby guys.
I guess the difference lies in the way the game is played, I have seen hockey games won by one or two very talented players, while the other's are just there, sometimes even in the way of the talented players. A rugby victory is ALWAYS a team victory, you need to be there to support your teammates, you have to run back, you have to pass, you have to scrum, you have to feel supported, you can't win a game with just a couple of talented players, sometimes a united group of rugby players is better than a talented team of rugby players that are not united. So perhaps that is why they are more friendly, since they want to know if you are going to support them in and off the field, winning your friendship first to be sure of the support on the field. Truth be told, one of the main reasons I stuck to hockey is because I'm better at it than rugby and since now I'm in hockey country, getting better is very good reason to stick to it (no pun intended).
Regarding hockey I have only really played with one team, players changed but still only one team. The friendship was there between some of the people playing and when others came they either already new someone on the team, making the integration easier, or they "earned" their place on the team and the teamate's respect and friendship. As always there are some that either didn't earn the respect or friendship and end up leaving, but you cannot like everyone all the time, and since it was not a matter of skills they would always make the team, that was not the problem.
Now I am playing in Montreal at a rink that offers pick up hockey on weekdays for 5 CAN (Canadian dollars), so I go there twice a week. The difference here is that no one tries to make the next one his friend, we do not talk to each other, we do not shake hands, we do not even know each other's name. Maybe it's cultural, and since we are only there to "play around" and not actually going anywhere, we are not a team and not in a league, we do not feel the urge to "unite" or even socialize; maybe it's just the second week of the season and as time passes people will open up; maybe it's the groups within the group, some people come with friends, stay with their friends, play with their friends, and leave with their friends, leaving the people that come solo, well solo; and maybe, since we are in Quebec, and there are French and English speaking people on the ice, it's the "natural" barrier between them that separates us all, who knows. Or maybe, if I was playing with a team it would be different.
On the other hand, I have played rugby, also in only one team. The difference was that in rugby, at least from my perspective, you go from friendship to teammate. Let me explain, you walk by the field, you see people playing rugby, you are interested in joining, you come closer to the field, someone from the team sees you, and either him or the person that is in charge of "talking to outsiders" (if you play rugby, you know what I mean, if you don't, find a rugby player and ask) comes to meet you and invite you to join. This is what we did in Aztecas RFC and it's what I experienced meeting a former teammate at his rugby practice with RCM here in Montreal, as soon as I put my bike down and came closer to the field, one guy asks me if I want to play rugby, I didn't join the team, but I am now playing hockey cosom (floor hockey) with them during the off-season, and making some friends, even though I'm not even in the team.
I have been playing both games for quite a while, and even though I'm a hockey freak to the bone and love it, I find the rugby all around feeling way more my thing. I remember when my good friend "Don Pinche Joe" (my hockey coach at the time) started the rugby team in Puebla he would say the same thing to me, and I just did not see it. Training rugby two or three times a week with very or almost no games, made hockey more attractive. We didn't have many games at hockey either, but at least enough people to play against each other once or twice a week. But after things started flowing, and the "third half" (if you don't understand, ask a rugby player) rugby parties started, I changed my mind about rugby, even tried bringing that spirit to my hockey team, but I guess there are only a few of us who can relate to both groups, since they didn't follow with the idea of parties quite like the rugby guys.
I guess the difference lies in the way the game is played, I have seen hockey games won by one or two very talented players, while the other's are just there, sometimes even in the way of the talented players. A rugby victory is ALWAYS a team victory, you need to be there to support your teammates, you have to run back, you have to pass, you have to scrum, you have to feel supported, you can't win a game with just a couple of talented players, sometimes a united group of rugby players is better than a talented team of rugby players that are not united. So perhaps that is why they are more friendly, since they want to know if you are going to support them in and off the field, winning your friendship first to be sure of the support on the field. Truth be told, one of the main reasons I stuck to hockey is because I'm better at it than rugby and since now I'm in hockey country, getting better is very good reason to stick to it (no pun intended).
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Papeles enviados
Por fin hemos enviado los papeles, y por lo que dice el sitio del sistema de correo canadiense, los papeles ya están en la oficina de migración en Alberta. Sólo queda esperar y esperar hasta que recibamos respuesta de la agencia de migración.
Por otro lado, les aviso, a mis dos lectores (jajaja), que voy a cambiar el nombre e idioma del blog a inglés, menos para lo que siga siendo relacionado a migración. Esto es para tener una audiencia más grande (quizás cinco o seis).
Por otro lado, les aviso, a mis dos lectores (jajaja), que voy a cambiar el nombre e idioma del blog a inglés, menos para lo que siga siendo relacionado a migración. Esto es para tener una audiencia más grande (quizás cinco o seis).
Monday, October 4, 2010
Antecedentes no penales
Han habido varias dudas acerca de migración pero ninguna como los antecedentes no penales. He hablado con 5 personas acerca de si debo o no mandar los antecedentes. Aquí les van las respuestas que he tenido:
1. Sí, ¿por qué no lo incluirías? Cualquier papel que no incluyas sólo va a retrasar tu solicitud.
2. No, para los mexicanos es otro proceso, no es necesario mandarlo. Después de obtener esta respuesta lo verifique en internet donde decía:
"Mexico
Do I need to provide a police certificate when applying for permanent residence?
Yes, but not with your initial application.
The visa office where you submit your application will contact you when they need this information."
Pero seguía dudando de las respuestas porque una persona decía que si y otra que no, así que decidí tener una tercera opinión para que fueran 2 contra 1, fuera cual fuera la respuesta.
3. Sí, lo tienes que enviar, si no se va a retrasar el proceso. Después de explicarle que la persona anterior me dijo que no porque era de México, me contestó que era correcto y que NO tenía que mandarlo. En vez de aclararme me confundió más porque no me dio un sí o un no rotundo, y volví a marcar.
4. Sí, sí y definitivamente sí. Tienes que mandarlo, si no se va a retrasar el proceso. Le dije que de 4 personas 2 me dijeron que sí, y 2 que no, entonces que no estaba seguro. Me dijo que sí, me dijo que lo que me había dicho la segunda persona era sólo para los que aplican desde afuera de Canadá y no para los que aplican desde adentro. Pero aún así y después de estar 40 minutos en el teléfono prácticamente todo el tiempo hablando acerca de esta pregunta, no me sentí satisfecho y decidí obtener un "segundo desempate", 3 de 5.
5. Esta persona fue la única que trato de buscar todas las variantes en las instrucciones antes de darme una respuesta. Buscamos en la guía, donde dice que sí, después en la página de internet, donde dice que si en unos lados y no en otros. Finalmente me dijo que no tenía la respuesta exacta (finalmente alguien honesto, no que los otros mintieran, pero al menos no estaba 100% segura de que poseía la verdad), por lo que tenía que consultar con alguien más, me dijo que había hablado con otra persona de migración y que estaba buscando la respuesta correcta. Unos minutos más tarde me dijo que no lo tenía que mandar a petición, en 2008, del Gobierno de México porque era muy lento el proceso y que más adelante me lo iban a solicitar y que esperara a ese correo. Me pidió una disculpa por la confusión y me dijo que su respuesta era la correcta, porque se tomó la molestia de investigar las diferencias entre lo que decía la página de internet, la guía, las demás personas, etc. Así que la respuesta es NO, no se tiene que mandar si eres de México y estás aplicando desde Canadá. También me dijo que podría mandar una carta anexa explicando porque no mandé los antecedentes, que estaban confusas las instrucciones, que se contradecían y que lo confirmé por teléfono.
Así que seguiré marcando y volviendo a marcar hasta que obtenga este tipo de respuestas, sobre todo cuando no esté satisfecho con las respuestas que estoy recibiendo.
1. Sí, ¿por qué no lo incluirías? Cualquier papel que no incluyas sólo va a retrasar tu solicitud.
2. No, para los mexicanos es otro proceso, no es necesario mandarlo. Después de obtener esta respuesta lo verifique en internet donde decía:
"Mexico
Do I need to provide a police certificate when applying for permanent residence?
Yes, but not with your initial application.
The visa office where you submit your application will contact you when they need this information."
Pero seguía dudando de las respuestas porque una persona decía que si y otra que no, así que decidí tener una tercera opinión para que fueran 2 contra 1, fuera cual fuera la respuesta.
3. Sí, lo tienes que enviar, si no se va a retrasar el proceso. Después de explicarle que la persona anterior me dijo que no porque era de México, me contestó que era correcto y que NO tenía que mandarlo. En vez de aclararme me confundió más porque no me dio un sí o un no rotundo, y volví a marcar.
4. Sí, sí y definitivamente sí. Tienes que mandarlo, si no se va a retrasar el proceso. Le dije que de 4 personas 2 me dijeron que sí, y 2 que no, entonces que no estaba seguro. Me dijo que sí, me dijo que lo que me había dicho la segunda persona era sólo para los que aplican desde afuera de Canadá y no para los que aplican desde adentro. Pero aún así y después de estar 40 minutos en el teléfono prácticamente todo el tiempo hablando acerca de esta pregunta, no me sentí satisfecho y decidí obtener un "segundo desempate", 3 de 5.
5. Esta persona fue la única que trato de buscar todas las variantes en las instrucciones antes de darme una respuesta. Buscamos en la guía, donde dice que sí, después en la página de internet, donde dice que si en unos lados y no en otros. Finalmente me dijo que no tenía la respuesta exacta (finalmente alguien honesto, no que los otros mintieran, pero al menos no estaba 100% segura de que poseía la verdad), por lo que tenía que consultar con alguien más, me dijo que había hablado con otra persona de migración y que estaba buscando la respuesta correcta. Unos minutos más tarde me dijo que no lo tenía que mandar a petición, en 2008, del Gobierno de México porque era muy lento el proceso y que más adelante me lo iban a solicitar y que esperara a ese correo. Me pidió una disculpa por la confusión y me dijo que su respuesta era la correcta, porque se tomó la molestia de investigar las diferencias entre lo que decía la página de internet, la guía, las demás personas, etc. Así que la respuesta es NO, no se tiene que mandar si eres de México y estás aplicando desde Canadá. También me dijo que podría mandar una carta anexa explicando porque no mandé los antecedentes, que estaban confusas las instrucciones, que se contradecían y que lo confirmé por teléfono.
Así que seguiré marcando y volviendo a marcar hasta que obtenga este tipo de respuestas, sobre todo cuando no esté satisfecho con las respuestas que estoy recibiendo.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Hacer la aplicación es más complicado que conocer al Papa (Sí Eva al Papa)
Hace como 2 o 3 semanas que no escribo nada ya sea porque se me olvida, porque no tengo ganas, o porque se me vuelve a olvidar. En estas semanas que no he escrito nada, he logrado hablar con 4 o 5 agentes diferentes de "Immigration Canada", con 2 o 3 personas del Consulado de México en Montreal y he completado el 99.99% de los documentos necesarios (99.9% porque cada vez que hablo me dicen que me faltó un documento o que lo que estoy haciendo no está bien).
Comenzamos por las preguntas que he hecho y que me han dado tanto en Immigration Canada como en el consulado mexicano:
Immigration Canada:
1. ¿Qué tan largas tienen que ser las respuestas a preguntas como "describe salidas y viajes y anexa fotos"?
-Mientras compruebes que estás (patrocinador y patrocinado) en una "relación real y que continúa" no hay límite de longitud, poner información de más no va a perjudicarte, poner de menos sí podría, yo llevo 53 páginas (por las fotos más que por las explicaciones).
2. ¿Debo aplicar para una extensión?
-La primera persona con la que hablé me dijo que no, la segunda me dijo que sí, y la tercera me dijo que sí, entonces sí. Tienes que aplicar para una extensión y cambio de condición (Application to change condition, extend my stay or remain in Canada IMM 1249). En esta aplicas para extender tu estancia para quedarte en Canadá durante la duración del proceso y a su vez aplicas para cambiar el estatus de "visitante" a "open work permit" (permiso de trabajo abierto). De una vez les informo que en la sección "B" (B - My family members) SÍ tienen que poner los datos de su esposa(o) aunque sea canadiense y poner que sí está en Canadá, que no requiere documentos y su número de pasaporte. No se les olvide que hay un checklist cuando bajen esta información.
3. Para los que aplican en Quebec. ¿Primero Quebec o Canadá? (para los que aplican en Quebec hay trámites que hacer con la provincia, en cuanto los haga se los informaré)
-Canadá es primero y después les avisan que tienen que hacer con Quebec.
4. ¿Alguien de Immigration Canada puede verificar los documentos antes de enviarlos?
-NO, sólo una persona ajena a la agencia lo puede hacer ya sea pagado o no, Immigration Canada sólo los revisan cuando lo mandas.
5. Cuando dice "print N/A". ¿Dónde y cómo se pone?
-En el primer renglón disponible y se cruza (anula) con una línea la sección, esto es para que se aseguren que no se te olvidó contestar la pregunta y para que sepan que para tu caso no aplica.
6. Antecedentes no penales
-Si estás en Canadá no tienes que mandarlos con el paquete original. Esto me está enojando demasiado ya que llevo semana y media esperando actas de nacimiento de México para hacer el trámite, para enterarme que no aplica hasta que lo soliciten, esto fue lo que me pasó: después de leer el checklist donde solicitan que se envíen los antecedentes (Document Checklist Spouse or Common-Law Partner in Canada IMM 5443), hablé para confirmar eso y me dijeron que entre más información mandes con el paquete inicial/original más rápido es el proceso, para que hoy me digan que este punto no aplica hasta que te lo solicitan porque lo estás haciendo desde Canadá y para cada país es un proceso diferente. Cabe resaltar que cuando se los pidan, hay que mandar tanto los estatales como los federales de acuerdo con el sitio de internet de Immigration Canada, esto se los confirmaré en cuanto me lo soliciten.
Consulado de México en Montreal:
Antes de saber lo de los Antecedentes Registrales (es lo mismo que los No Penales, para que sepan y no se hagan bolas)hablé para preguntar acerca del trámite. De acuerdo al sitio de internet del consulado te piden:
1. Carta-solicitud manuscrita del (de la) interesado(a) dirigida al Director General de Control de Procesos Penales Federales de la Procuraduría General de la República. Explicar el motivo de la solicitud para obtener la Constancia de Antecedentes Registrales y mencionar el último domicilio y año en que residió en Territorio Nacional.
2. Dos fotografías (no especifico como tienen que ser tomadas porque ahorita no tiene caso)
3. Tres ejemplares de huellas digitales (tampoco lo especifico como tiene que ser)
4. Copia certificada del Acta de Nacimiento DEL AÑO EN CURSO. Con esto si me enojé porque para obtener el Acta de Nacimiento en el extranjero tiene que ir alguien en México a hacer el trámite en tu registro civil, esto lo hizo mi papá, pero aún así, ¿En qué carajos cambia un acta de nacimiento? Va a traer la misma información en un formato diferente a la que tengo del 2000.
5. (Estos son diferentes puntos pero para no alargar) CURP, Copia de IFE o pasaporte, Cartilla Militar para varones (les dije que para que la piden si ya no es obligatorio hacer servicio militar y me dijeron que mande una carta a la PGR para decirles eso, jajaja, como si sirviera de algo) y comprobante de domicilio.
También hablé para preguntar acerca del registro del matrimonio en México, ya que me casé legalmente en Quebec, y sólo hay que llevar el Acta de Matrimonio, te ponen una leyenda atrás y después alguien lo tiene que registrar en México.
Al parecer ya tengo (ahora sí, al menos eso creo) el 99.99% de la información solicitada, me falta uno o dos documentos a llenar, las fotos y revisar que todo esté completo y bien llenado. También lo que hice en recomendación de mi suegra fue mandar los documentos a mis papás, hermanas, suegros, cuñados, esposa, para que lo lean, revisen, corrijan, comenten, agreguen, quiten, etc., ya que pues no es lo mismo que una persona (yo) diga que así está bien, a que 5 o más estén de acuerdo con el producto final, esta recomendación vino de ella a través de su ex-jefe porque su hermana acaba de terminar el proceso después de casarse con un cubano.
Algo que si les recomiendo más que nada es que hablen con los agentes, siempre que tengan una duda y si no les queda claro vuelvan a hablar y vuelvan a hablar y vuelvan a hablar, porque a pesar de que (supuestamente) todo está en la página de internet y te dicen que es bastante claro hay cosas (como lo de los antecedentes) que no viene explicado tal cual y hay cosas que como cualquier persona los agentes interpretan de manera diferente y te pueden dar respuestas completamente opuestas (como aplicar para la extensión). Así que no le tengan miedo al teléfono y marquen, marque y marquen. No hay nada peor que equivocarse por no preguntar y sobre todo con un trámite tan largo, tedioso y en el que te pueden regresar tu paquete completo por un error que se pudo evitar con una llamada.
Comenzamos por las preguntas que he hecho y que me han dado tanto en Immigration Canada como en el consulado mexicano:
Immigration Canada:
1. ¿Qué tan largas tienen que ser las respuestas a preguntas como "describe salidas y viajes y anexa fotos"?
-Mientras compruebes que estás (patrocinador y patrocinado) en una "relación real y que continúa" no hay límite de longitud, poner información de más no va a perjudicarte, poner de menos sí podría, yo llevo 53 páginas (por las fotos más que por las explicaciones).
2. ¿Debo aplicar para una extensión?
-La primera persona con la que hablé me dijo que no, la segunda me dijo que sí, y la tercera me dijo que sí, entonces sí. Tienes que aplicar para una extensión y cambio de condición (Application to change condition, extend my stay or remain in Canada IMM 1249). En esta aplicas para extender tu estancia para quedarte en Canadá durante la duración del proceso y a su vez aplicas para cambiar el estatus de "visitante" a "open work permit" (permiso de trabajo abierto). De una vez les informo que en la sección "B" (B - My family members) SÍ tienen que poner los datos de su esposa(o) aunque sea canadiense y poner que sí está en Canadá, que no requiere documentos y su número de pasaporte. No se les olvide que hay un checklist cuando bajen esta información.
3. Para los que aplican en Quebec. ¿Primero Quebec o Canadá? (para los que aplican en Quebec hay trámites que hacer con la provincia, en cuanto los haga se los informaré)
-Canadá es primero y después les avisan que tienen que hacer con Quebec.
4. ¿Alguien de Immigration Canada puede verificar los documentos antes de enviarlos?
-NO, sólo una persona ajena a la agencia lo puede hacer ya sea pagado o no, Immigration Canada sólo los revisan cuando lo mandas.
5. Cuando dice "print N/A". ¿Dónde y cómo se pone?
-En el primer renglón disponible y se cruza (anula) con una línea la sección, esto es para que se aseguren que no se te olvidó contestar la pregunta y para que sepan que para tu caso no aplica.
6. Antecedentes no penales
-Si estás en Canadá no tienes que mandarlos con el paquete original. Esto me está enojando demasiado ya que llevo semana y media esperando actas de nacimiento de México para hacer el trámite, para enterarme que no aplica hasta que lo soliciten, esto fue lo que me pasó: después de leer el checklist donde solicitan que se envíen los antecedentes (Document Checklist Spouse or Common-Law Partner in Canada IMM 5443), hablé para confirmar eso y me dijeron que entre más información mandes con el paquete inicial/original más rápido es el proceso, para que hoy me digan que este punto no aplica hasta que te lo solicitan porque lo estás haciendo desde Canadá y para cada país es un proceso diferente. Cabe resaltar que cuando se los pidan, hay que mandar tanto los estatales como los federales de acuerdo con el sitio de internet de Immigration Canada, esto se los confirmaré en cuanto me lo soliciten.
Consulado de México en Montreal:
Antes de saber lo de los Antecedentes Registrales (es lo mismo que los No Penales, para que sepan y no se hagan bolas)hablé para preguntar acerca del trámite. De acuerdo al sitio de internet del consulado te piden:
1. Carta-solicitud manuscrita del (de la) interesado(a) dirigida al Director General de Control de Procesos Penales Federales de la Procuraduría General de la República. Explicar el motivo de la solicitud para obtener la Constancia de Antecedentes Registrales y mencionar el último domicilio y año en que residió en Territorio Nacional.
2. Dos fotografías (no especifico como tienen que ser tomadas porque ahorita no tiene caso)
3. Tres ejemplares de huellas digitales (tampoco lo especifico como tiene que ser)
4. Copia certificada del Acta de Nacimiento DEL AÑO EN CURSO. Con esto si me enojé porque para obtener el Acta de Nacimiento en el extranjero tiene que ir alguien en México a hacer el trámite en tu registro civil, esto lo hizo mi papá, pero aún así, ¿En qué carajos cambia un acta de nacimiento? Va a traer la misma información en un formato diferente a la que tengo del 2000.
5. (Estos son diferentes puntos pero para no alargar) CURP, Copia de IFE o pasaporte, Cartilla Militar para varones (les dije que para que la piden si ya no es obligatorio hacer servicio militar y me dijeron que mande una carta a la PGR para decirles eso, jajaja, como si sirviera de algo) y comprobante de domicilio.
También hablé para preguntar acerca del registro del matrimonio en México, ya que me casé legalmente en Quebec, y sólo hay que llevar el Acta de Matrimonio, te ponen una leyenda atrás y después alguien lo tiene que registrar en México.
Al parecer ya tengo (ahora sí, al menos eso creo) el 99.99% de la información solicitada, me falta uno o dos documentos a llenar, las fotos y revisar que todo esté completo y bien llenado. También lo que hice en recomendación de mi suegra fue mandar los documentos a mis papás, hermanas, suegros, cuñados, esposa, para que lo lean, revisen, corrijan, comenten, agreguen, quiten, etc., ya que pues no es lo mismo que una persona (yo) diga que así está bien, a que 5 o más estén de acuerdo con el producto final, esta recomendación vino de ella a través de su ex-jefe porque su hermana acaba de terminar el proceso después de casarse con un cubano.
Algo que si les recomiendo más que nada es que hablen con los agentes, siempre que tengan una duda y si no les queda claro vuelvan a hablar y vuelvan a hablar y vuelvan a hablar, porque a pesar de que (supuestamente) todo está en la página de internet y te dicen que es bastante claro hay cosas (como lo de los antecedentes) que no viene explicado tal cual y hay cosas que como cualquier persona los agentes interpretan de manera diferente y te pueden dar respuestas completamente opuestas (como aplicar para la extensión). Así que no le tengan miedo al teléfono y marquen, marque y marquen. No hay nada peor que equivocarse por no preguntar y sobre todo con un trámite tan largo, tedioso y en el que te pueden regresar tu paquete completo por un error que se pudo evitar con una llamada.
Monday, August 30, 2010
Contacto con migración
Después de estar toda la mañana "entreteniendome" para no tener que llegar al punto de hacer la llamada, decidí que era tonto alargar la "agonía" de tener que llamar a la agencia de migración. Así que tome la computadora me metí a mi cuenta de gmail y decidí probar su nuevo sistema de "teléfono" que incluye llamadas gratuitas a Canadá y EEUU, después de varios intentos fallidos en los que no me respondían decidí intentar desde mi celular, suponiendo que como estaba llamando a un número al que solamente se puede marcar desde el interior de Canadá y que mi computadora no iba a ser reconocida como tal.
Marqué una vez... sonaba ocupado, marqué una segunda vez... mismo resultado, entré a la página de internet y me di cuenta que había dos números, uno para personas con discapacidad auditiva (el que yo estaba marcando por error) y otro número para el Call Center nacional. Ya con el número correcto volví a marcar y después de 10 mins (9 y medio para ser exactos) de haber escuchado (dos veces) opciones de menú, explicaciones de que significa ser residente permanente, que significa ser ciudadano, que opciones de visas hay y hasta advertencias sobre el tipo de lenguaje que no está permitido usar cuando hablas con un agente (supongo que la gente se ha de enojar cuando les niegan su visa o no les llega a tiempo), oprimí el todo poderoso "0" (cero)*, lo que me llevó a una grabación de espere en la línea, una cancioncita y unos segundos después a otra grabación que decía que todos estaban ocupados; que marcara más tarde; y, que los mejores días para hablar eran los jueves y viernes.
Con lo sucedido hoy supongo que intentaré marcar más tarde para ver si logro hablar con alguien por lo mientras trataré de avanzar (suponiendo que lo estoy haciendo bien) en los papeles. Y probablemente saldré a dar una vuelta para no estar todo el día sentado en casa. Quizás compre una bici también, eso está por verse.
*Cabe señalar que en ningún momento escuche la opción "si quiere hablar con un agente por favor marque '0' (cero)" o espere en la línea o algo parecido, y no lo marcaba suponiendo que existía otro sub-menú.
Marqué una vez... sonaba ocupado, marqué una segunda vez... mismo resultado, entré a la página de internet y me di cuenta que había dos números, uno para personas con discapacidad auditiva (el que yo estaba marcando por error) y otro número para el Call Center nacional. Ya con el número correcto volví a marcar y después de 10 mins (9 y medio para ser exactos) de haber escuchado (dos veces) opciones de menú, explicaciones de que significa ser residente permanente, que significa ser ciudadano, que opciones de visas hay y hasta advertencias sobre el tipo de lenguaje que no está permitido usar cuando hablas con un agente (supongo que la gente se ha de enojar cuando les niegan su visa o no les llega a tiempo), oprimí el todo poderoso "0" (cero)*, lo que me llevó a una grabación de espere en la línea, una cancioncita y unos segundos después a otra grabación que decía que todos estaban ocupados; que marcara más tarde; y, que los mejores días para hablar eran los jueves y viernes.
Con lo sucedido hoy supongo que intentaré marcar más tarde para ver si logro hablar con alguien por lo mientras trataré de avanzar (suponiendo que lo estoy haciendo bien) en los papeles. Y probablemente saldré a dar una vuelta para no estar todo el día sentado en casa. Quizás compre una bici también, eso está por verse.
*Cabe señalar que en ningún momento escuche la opción "si quiere hablar con un agente por favor marque '0' (cero)" o espere en la línea o algo parecido, y no lo marcaba suponiendo que existía otro sub-menú.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Empezamos los papeles (ahora sí)
Ayer finalmente empecé a llenar los papeles de migración, por un lado el questionario "In-Canada application for permanent resident status (IMM5002 E)" es bastante sencillo, solicitan información general, dónde naciste, fecha de nacimiento, estatura, nacionalidad, etc., en la segunda parte de este questionario denominada "Shedule 1" ya se ponen más espesos y piden nombres de tus papas, sus fechas y lugares de nacimiento, que estudios has hecho desde la prepa, donde has trabajado en los últimos 10 años, donde has vivido en los ultimos 10 años y a que organizaciones perteneces o has pertenecido desde que tienes 18 años. También en alguna parte de este documento te preguntan si te han arrestado, negado entrada a un país, negado una visa, etc.
Pero por otro lado el questionario "Spouse/Common-Law Questionaire (IMM5285 E)" es otro boleto, ahí es donde te piden que pongas fotos que comprueben que llevas tantos años de conocer a tu pareja, que si tus papás la conocen, si están casados, si fue arreglado el matrimonio, etc., divertido sí y un poco chistoso también, pero tedioso, porque aunque sea divertido ver y escoger las fotos, yo nunca pensé cuando conocí a mi ahora esposa, que nos ibamos a casar y que ibamos a mudarnos a Canadá, aplicar para el estatus de residente permanente y que ibamos a necesitar toda esta información, a muy poca gente se le ha de ocurrir al menos a los que no lo hacen sólo por la "green card".
Me pasé toda la mañana y parte de la tarde en llenar estos dos cuestionarios, o al menos parte de ellos, porque mientras el 80% del tiempo lo dediqué a llenar el "Spouse/Common-Law Questionaire", solamente he respondido a una pregunta y media y sin estar seguro de escribir lo que piden. El otro 20% de mi tiempo fue para llenar el otro questionario y lo que más me tarde en hacer fue pensar de que fecha a que fecha estudie que, donde viví, donde trabajé, las direcciones de donde viví etc., porque no está permitido dejar fechas (lapsos de tiempo) en blanco.
Por el momento he puesto fotos de varias salidas y viajes que hemos hecho juntos en los últimos (casi) cuatro años, el problema es que no sé que tan específico tengo que ser o cuantas fotos necesitan o si necesitan que se las explique una por una, si pongo una por mes, o dos o tres, o una por año. No estoy seguro de nada de eso y en los papeles no lo especifica, por lo que mañana voy a hablar a la agencia de inmigración para que me ayuden con eso, lo que puede significar que o voy bien, o me falta algo, o no tenía "ni puta idea" (en palabras de un amigo español, de España) y tengo que volver a empezar. Pero hasta ahora ha sido entretenido llenar los documentos y espero que siga así.
Pero por otro lado el questionario "Spouse/Common-Law Questionaire (IMM5285 E)" es otro boleto, ahí es donde te piden que pongas fotos que comprueben que llevas tantos años de conocer a tu pareja, que si tus papás la conocen, si están casados, si fue arreglado el matrimonio, etc., divertido sí y un poco chistoso también, pero tedioso, porque aunque sea divertido ver y escoger las fotos, yo nunca pensé cuando conocí a mi ahora esposa, que nos ibamos a casar y que ibamos a mudarnos a Canadá, aplicar para el estatus de residente permanente y que ibamos a necesitar toda esta información, a muy poca gente se le ha de ocurrir al menos a los que no lo hacen sólo por la "green card".
Me pasé toda la mañana y parte de la tarde en llenar estos dos cuestionarios, o al menos parte de ellos, porque mientras el 80% del tiempo lo dediqué a llenar el "Spouse/Common-Law Questionaire", solamente he respondido a una pregunta y media y sin estar seguro de escribir lo que piden. El otro 20% de mi tiempo fue para llenar el otro questionario y lo que más me tarde en hacer fue pensar de que fecha a que fecha estudie que, donde viví, donde trabajé, las direcciones de donde viví etc., porque no está permitido dejar fechas (lapsos de tiempo) en blanco.
Por el momento he puesto fotos de varias salidas y viajes que hemos hecho juntos en los últimos (casi) cuatro años, el problema es que no sé que tan específico tengo que ser o cuantas fotos necesitan o si necesitan que se las explique una por una, si pongo una por mes, o dos o tres, o una por año. No estoy seguro de nada de eso y en los papeles no lo especifica, por lo que mañana voy a hablar a la agencia de inmigración para que me ayuden con eso, lo que puede significar que o voy bien, o me falta algo, o no tenía "ni puta idea" (en palabras de un amigo español, de España) y tengo que volver a empezar. Pero hasta ahora ha sido entretenido llenar los documentos y espero que siga así.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Impresora adquirida y papeles impresos
Por fin tenemos una impresora que funciona, y logré imprimir los papeles (sin aun llenar la información). Ahora vamos a poder dedicar nuestros ratos libres (los míos mucho más frecuentes y largos) a llenar esta información.
Como no tenía caso llenar los papeles en la computadora, porque no los podíamos mandar a imprimir, no había papel, etc., tampoco tenía mucho caso leerlos detenidamente en ese momento, o al menos no lo hice hasta hace 5 mins., ya con las hojas en mano. Por lo que vi esto va a ser un poco más entretenido de lo que parecía ya que entre las preguntas piden que especifiques donde, cuando, por qué, conociste a la otra persona, si no mal recuerdo (los papeles están del otro lado del cuarto y a estas horas me da flojera ir por ellos) pedía especificar bajo que circunstancias nos conocimos, espero que no tenga que poner Bacardí como respuesta, jajaja. Y aparte de todas estas preguntas también piden evidencia fotográfica de cada uno de los eventos, pedida, boda civil, boda religiosa, otro evento tradicional, etc., al menos podré ver fotos de nuestra vida juntos y escoger las mejores para presumirlas a los de inmigración!
¡Saludos y buenas noches!
Como no tenía caso llenar los papeles en la computadora, porque no los podíamos mandar a imprimir, no había papel, etc., tampoco tenía mucho caso leerlos detenidamente en ese momento, o al menos no lo hice hasta hace 5 mins., ya con las hojas en mano. Por lo que vi esto va a ser un poco más entretenido de lo que parecía ya que entre las preguntas piden que especifiques donde, cuando, por qué, conociste a la otra persona, si no mal recuerdo (los papeles están del otro lado del cuarto y a estas horas me da flojera ir por ellos) pedía especificar bajo que circunstancias nos conocimos, espero que no tenga que poner Bacardí como respuesta, jajaja. Y aparte de todas estas preguntas también piden evidencia fotográfica de cada uno de los eventos, pedida, boda civil, boda religiosa, otro evento tradicional, etc., al menos podré ver fotos de nuestra vida juntos y escoger las mejores para presumirlas a los de inmigración!
¡Saludos y buenas noches!
Avance en migración
Esto me pasó ayer: ¡La impresora me odia! Después de no querer imprimir desde mi computadora decidí intentar desde la computadora de la casa. Tras 4 o 5 mensajes de error por falta de papel (el cual sí había), empezó a comerse las hojas y a destruirlas.
Por hoy di por terminada la lucha con la impresora, mañana será otro día y veremos si decidimos comprar la nuestra o buscar un lugar donde imprimir los papeles de migración. Mientras tanto buscaré impresoras en lo que llega mi esposa de chambear!
Por hoy di por terminada la lucha con la impresora, mañana será otro día y veremos si decidimos comprar la nuestra o buscar un lugar donde imprimir los papeles de migración. Mientras tanto buscaré impresoras en lo que llega mi esposa de chambear!
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