Well it's been an interesting stretch since my last post.
The biggest news is that it only took me 5 weeks to be named the new interim head greenskeeper at the Estonian Golf and Country Club! Apparently membership hadn't been happy with the old greenskeeper for the last year or so, and with the greens in the condition they were in at opening they demanded that his head go on the chopping block. He has not left the course however though. The two of us are running the show together now. We've been putting in seriously long days and FINALLY the greens are starting to look good. They're still a ways from where we want them, but we've made HUGE progress in the last couple of weeks.
With this promotion my duties really haven't changed all that much. The only downside to being the head of the greens department is that now all complaints from members (and believe me, there are plenty!) come to me. My biggest issue is trying to be as diplomatic as possible with them....because believe me, there have been a number of times I would have loved to tell them to do something to themselves that is physically impossible.
The best and funniest part about this promotion was how I got it. Obviously the upper management would have prefered to give the head greenskeeper title to the other assistant, but they thought he "didn't have the right look and that membership wouldn't believe what he was saying." FINALLY ONCE IN MY LIFE MY LOOKS HAVE GOTTEN ME AHEAD!!
And this post wouldn't be complete without mentioning the weather. The last 2 weeks have been mid-to-high 20s and sunny! UNBELIEVABLE! We're supposed to get up to 30 and sunny this weekend so I'm hoping to hit the beach and fix up this fantastic farmer's tan I've picked up over the last couple weeks.
Oh.....Also made it onto the Delfi website last weekend......and no it's not a mug shot.
http://www.delfi.ee/news/paevauudised/eesti/fotod-toompeal-tahistati-eesti-lipu-127-sunnipaeva.d?id=47209879
Hope all is well in the 416....or whatever area code you happen to be reading this from!
Cheers!
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Sunday, May 29, 2011
The Daily Grind
Well it's been a couple weeks since my last post, and that's because nothing terribly exciting is happening. Just settling into the daily grind of going to work and doing various things in the evenings.
Fortunately the weather has been co-operating with us over the last couple of weeks and the greens are starting to come around quite nicely. The Stone Course greens are still in REALLY rough shape, but I think they'll start coming around.
Otherwise it's been a fun few weeks. Last Saturday went to Eva's dad's girlfriend's (I think) place out in Nõmme for a BBQ. Beautiful afternoon spent outside having a couple drinks and laughs with friends. I've pretty much been working one day every weekend so far, but I'm going to try and get in some more hours because I know the end of June and into July are going to be pretty hectic.
Today's plans include cleaning up around the apartment a bit, going to see the Sõleke rahvatants group perform, then definitely hit the grocery store as I have absolutely no food in the house.
Hope you're all doing well.
Fortunately the weather has been co-operating with us over the last couple of weeks and the greens are starting to come around quite nicely. The Stone Course greens are still in REALLY rough shape, but I think they'll start coming around.
Otherwise it's been a fun few weeks. Last Saturday went to Eva's dad's girlfriend's (I think) place out in Nõmme for a BBQ. Beautiful afternoon spent outside having a couple drinks and laughs with friends. I've pretty much been working one day every weekend so far, but I'm going to try and get in some more hours because I know the end of June and into July are going to be pretty hectic.
Today's plans include cleaning up around the apartment a bit, going to see the Sõleke rahvatants group perform, then definitely hit the grocery store as I have absolutely no food in the house.
Hope you're all doing well.
Thursday, May 12, 2011
Learning and Adjusting
So for all intents and purposes I've finished my first two weeks of work. Needless to say it is completely different from my experiences at Thornhill Golf & CC. There it was a large staff that was constantly on the go. From upper management to a summer university student, everyone was busy all the time! Here it is a staff of 10 (I think, some people are there some days, others they're not) and it's a far more relaxed pace. The work day starts at 7am, and that means people show up at 7, make coffee and head out the door 15-20 mins later. Needless to say I'm a bit of a maverick showing up before 7 and heading out the door pretty much on time. I knew coming over here that the European work ethic isn't quite what it is in north America, so I this kind of stuff really didn't surprise me.
During the first couple of days it just seemed like chaos to me. That's pretty natural when you get thrown into a new situation, but it just seemed like people went out the door to do whatever. Later I learned that pretty much everyone has their week routine so unless something changes, people can go out without asking what needs to be done. My first few days were spent getting to know my way around the course, learning about some of the problems they have, and doing various jobs.
One of the biggest differences I've noticed is the quality of the equipment and personnel. At Thornhill it seemed like we had the latest and greatest gadgets and equipment to get the work done. Here with a much smaller budget a lot more creative solutions have to occur. I've already discovered that most of the equipment doesn't work the way it's supposed to, so you need to learn the quirks of each machine as you go. Also, I haven't exactly figured out what the mechanic at the course does. With so much faulty equipment around, I'm not sure what he does to fill the day. One thing though that I am enjoying a little bit is re-learning some of the stuff I learned at school. Working at Thornhill the mechanics took care of changing the heads on cutting units and making adjustments, whereas that is something I'm re-learning since I haven't done that in a number of years....it's coming back pretty quickly though. My two bosses here are interesting as well. The other assistant is there all the time, but it seems like the Superintendent shows up around 8 or 9 and is kind of off doing his own thing. Also seems to be a little unorganized, but that could just be that I don't know him well enough yet.
I've also had a couple of brief conversations with upper management at the club during my first couple weeks (club GM and President). They seem to expect quite a bit out of me and hope that I can be a big part of improving the quality of the playing surface at the club. Apparently they want to get together with me for lunch one day to talk about the course, and hopefully some of my Dad's ability to shmooze has rubbed off on me.
A little bit about the golf course. I'm working at the Estonian Golf and Country Club in Jõelähtme, which is 25km east of Tallinn. It consists of an 18 hole championship Sea Course, and a 9 hole Stone Course. The Stone Course is your basic links style of golf course. Wide open, not too many bunkers. The Sea Course is an AMAZING looking track. Stunning views, difficult holes, and plenty of length to challenge even the best of golfers. The Stone Course greens are still in pretty rough shape (Ok, I'd say they're pretty well dead, but we're working on it), and the Sea Course is starting to come around nicely.
One of the cool things about this golf course is they encourage over time hours. Like most places it's a 40hr work week, so any hours that we work overtime get banked. So we get our 28 days paid vacation, and those hours we bank get paid to us in the winter....So I could potentially have 3 months worth of paid vacation. And unlike previous experiences weekends here seem somewhat optional. Come in if you can, if you can't no problem. I'm going to try and get into some kind of routine over the summer so I can bank as many overtime weekend hours as possible, on top of those that I get during the week.
I'm also waiting to see what my first pay check will look like. I knew coming over here that I would be taking a substantial pay cut (which I did), but I'm trying to keep my expenses to a minimum in hopes of putting some money away to do some traveling in the winter. Some things here are pretty cheap, but other things are EXPENSIVE. So people in Toronto I don't want to hear you complaining about the high gas prices. I'm paying 1.24euro per litre.
Otherwise things are going well. Everyone that came over here for Volber has gone back to Canada so I've had a chance to detox. Now it's just a matter of finding some kind of hobby to keep myself busy after the work day.
Hope you enjoyed the read!
During the first couple of days it just seemed like chaos to me. That's pretty natural when you get thrown into a new situation, but it just seemed like people went out the door to do whatever. Later I learned that pretty much everyone has their week routine so unless something changes, people can go out without asking what needs to be done. My first few days were spent getting to know my way around the course, learning about some of the problems they have, and doing various jobs.
One of the biggest differences I've noticed is the quality of the equipment and personnel. At Thornhill it seemed like we had the latest and greatest gadgets and equipment to get the work done. Here with a much smaller budget a lot more creative solutions have to occur. I've already discovered that most of the equipment doesn't work the way it's supposed to, so you need to learn the quirks of each machine as you go. Also, I haven't exactly figured out what the mechanic at the course does. With so much faulty equipment around, I'm not sure what he does to fill the day. One thing though that I am enjoying a little bit is re-learning some of the stuff I learned at school. Working at Thornhill the mechanics took care of changing the heads on cutting units and making adjustments, whereas that is something I'm re-learning since I haven't done that in a number of years....it's coming back pretty quickly though. My two bosses here are interesting as well. The other assistant is there all the time, but it seems like the Superintendent shows up around 8 or 9 and is kind of off doing his own thing. Also seems to be a little unorganized, but that could just be that I don't know him well enough yet.
I've also had a couple of brief conversations with upper management at the club during my first couple weeks (club GM and President). They seem to expect quite a bit out of me and hope that I can be a big part of improving the quality of the playing surface at the club. Apparently they want to get together with me for lunch one day to talk about the course, and hopefully some of my Dad's ability to shmooze has rubbed off on me.
A little bit about the golf course. I'm working at the Estonian Golf and Country Club in Jõelähtme, which is 25km east of Tallinn. It consists of an 18 hole championship Sea Course, and a 9 hole Stone Course. The Stone Course is your basic links style of golf course. Wide open, not too many bunkers. The Sea Course is an AMAZING looking track. Stunning views, difficult holes, and plenty of length to challenge even the best of golfers. The Stone Course greens are still in pretty rough shape (Ok, I'd say they're pretty well dead, but we're working on it), and the Sea Course is starting to come around nicely.
One of the cool things about this golf course is they encourage over time hours. Like most places it's a 40hr work week, so any hours that we work overtime get banked. So we get our 28 days paid vacation, and those hours we bank get paid to us in the winter....So I could potentially have 3 months worth of paid vacation. And unlike previous experiences weekends here seem somewhat optional. Come in if you can, if you can't no problem. I'm going to try and get into some kind of routine over the summer so I can bank as many overtime weekend hours as possible, on top of those that I get during the week.
I'm also waiting to see what my first pay check will look like. I knew coming over here that I would be taking a substantial pay cut (which I did), but I'm trying to keep my expenses to a minimum in hopes of putting some money away to do some traveling in the winter. Some things here are pretty cheap, but other things are EXPENSIVE. So people in Toronto I don't want to hear you complaining about the high gas prices. I'm paying 1.24euro per litre.
Otherwise things are going well. Everyone that came over here for Volber has gone back to Canada so I've had a chance to detox. Now it's just a matter of finding some kind of hobby to keep myself busy after the work day.
Hope you enjoyed the read!
Monday, May 2, 2011
May 2nd, 2011- The Day Reality Set In
I was planning on putting off writing for a couple days, but today just seemed like the appropriate time. The last few days have been wild to say the least. People started showing up from Toronto on Tuesday, so it's been one big party since. Miku arrived on Tuesday afternoon when I went and met him and Valjo at the Tallinn C!Q! for a couple drinks. Tuesday wasn't necessarily an early night, but much earlier than the next few.
Wednesday, Mikk and Heili flew in from Sweden, Nick K, Kalle and Kristiina arrived from Toronto. So true to form, we meet up at Raekoja plats for a couple of beers in the sunshine. From there we moved onto a restaurant for dinner, and Nimeta afterwards for the soccer game. Met up with a bunch of the Tallinn Vironia guys and moved about town until the wee hours of the morning. Thursday was much of the same, but I actually ended up taking it a little easy as I had to go into work on Friday.
Friday was a beautiful sunny day, and my boss had asked me if I'd like to play in the Sea Course opening tournament...And when the boss asks you if you want to golf, the answer is always yes, and you better let him win. It was a Florida scramble format, which I'm not too keen on, but had a great afternoon and got to meet some pretty awesome people. Unfortunately I couldn't stay around for the dinner as I had to get back to the apartment and get some stuff done in preparation for the weekend. Got home, had a shower and packed for the weekend down in Tartu. I met up with a couple of guys at the C!Q!, grabbed a few cases of beer hit the road. A bus had been arranged for us to pick the 14 guys arriving that night, so we grabbed them at the airport and made our way down to Tartu. We arrived shortly before mid-night, and sat around the C!Q! having a few beers. I decided to go to bed early (2am) as volber was going to be a pretty long day.
The forecast for Tartu was supposed to be pretty crappy for the weekend, but we lucked out pretty huge with the weather. Little on the chilly side, but the sun was out, so why complain? As is par for the course, myself, Mikk, Heili, Miku, Juri, Kalle, Nick and a few others had a few pints in Tartu raekoda plats. At this point I'll mention the sweet accommodations Heili and Kristiina found. We had a nice little apartment between 4 of us right on Raekoja plats. Cheap, clean and couldn't ask for a better location.
Volber was an absolute riot. Walking through the streets of Tartu with a couple hundred frat members is something that every Estonian needs to experience atleast once. After the parade we went back to the C!Q! where we gave our rebased their colours making them full members. After a couple of beers we decided that a meal was in order because it was going to be a VERY long night. A quality pizza, and we were set to go back to the C!Q! for, you guessed it! Beers! We sat around singing and drinking until mid-night, at which point we piled ourselves into cabs and headed out to visit the other frat houses. During the course of the evening we swung by the Rotalia, Sakala, Ugala, and EUS houses. Great parties, great music, great people. The intention finish the evening by going by Allan Liik's apartment for a late evening/early morning saun. Unfortunately we couldn't get the saun to work, so Eerik and I headed out towards the Vironia C!Q! I ended up getting back to the apartment sometime around 8 or 9am. Helluva party!
Sunday was a bit of a write-off as I had to get on the bus to head back to Tallinn. People tried convincing me to stay, but as Monday was my first work day, that wasn't much of an option. I said good-bye to my Toronto friends, and poured myself onto the bus. Slept most of the way back, got to the apartment and slept like a baby.
Monday morning still not feeling 100%, I woke up early to head in to work. I'm used to 6am starts at the golf course, but here I'm spoiled with 7am starts. Still entertaining the thought of starting at 6am just so I can get out a little earlier. Things are increadibly relax at this course. It's a tiny staff, but it seems like everyone knows what they have to do, and they go about their business. To me, it seems a little bit unorganized, however it might just be that I need to get familiarized with how they operate. I've already noticed some things in my first day that I think could be improved or changed, but those are things I can deal with in the coming weeks.
So today getting home from work, the reality of being in Eesti hit me. Until now, I've still felt like I'm going home in a couple of days. But having done the first day of work, and coming home it struck me that I'm here for a long haul. I've surrounded myself here with great family and friends, but it's still a little unsettling that I won't be seeing my family for quite a while. I'm sure over the next couple days and weeks I'll get into some kind of routine and get used to the day to day life here.
I think these coming weeks will really help me figure out how long I feel I want to live in Eesti. It was the best time for me to take the plunge and move over here when I left, but there are always a lot of unknowns. Once I start figuring out some answers, I'll start to feel more relaxed.
Hope you enjoyed the read.
Wednesday, Mikk and Heili flew in from Sweden, Nick K, Kalle and Kristiina arrived from Toronto. So true to form, we meet up at Raekoja plats for a couple of beers in the sunshine. From there we moved onto a restaurant for dinner, and Nimeta afterwards for the soccer game. Met up with a bunch of the Tallinn Vironia guys and moved about town until the wee hours of the morning. Thursday was much of the same, but I actually ended up taking it a little easy as I had to go into work on Friday.
Friday was a beautiful sunny day, and my boss had asked me if I'd like to play in the Sea Course opening tournament...And when the boss asks you if you want to golf, the answer is always yes, and you better let him win. It was a Florida scramble format, which I'm not too keen on, but had a great afternoon and got to meet some pretty awesome people. Unfortunately I couldn't stay around for the dinner as I had to get back to the apartment and get some stuff done in preparation for the weekend. Got home, had a shower and packed for the weekend down in Tartu. I met up with a couple of guys at the C!Q!, grabbed a few cases of beer hit the road. A bus had been arranged for us to pick the 14 guys arriving that night, so we grabbed them at the airport and made our way down to Tartu. We arrived shortly before mid-night, and sat around the C!Q! having a few beers. I decided to go to bed early (2am) as volber was going to be a pretty long day.
The forecast for Tartu was supposed to be pretty crappy for the weekend, but we lucked out pretty huge with the weather. Little on the chilly side, but the sun was out, so why complain? As is par for the course, myself, Mikk, Heili, Miku, Juri, Kalle, Nick and a few others had a few pints in Tartu raekoda plats. At this point I'll mention the sweet accommodations Heili and Kristiina found. We had a nice little apartment between 4 of us right on Raekoja plats. Cheap, clean and couldn't ask for a better location.
Volber was an absolute riot. Walking through the streets of Tartu with a couple hundred frat members is something that every Estonian needs to experience atleast once. After the parade we went back to the C!Q! where we gave our rebased their colours making them full members. After a couple of beers we decided that a meal was in order because it was going to be a VERY long night. A quality pizza, and we were set to go back to the C!Q! for, you guessed it! Beers! We sat around singing and drinking until mid-night, at which point we piled ourselves into cabs and headed out to visit the other frat houses. During the course of the evening we swung by the Rotalia, Sakala, Ugala, and EUS houses. Great parties, great music, great people. The intention finish the evening by going by Allan Liik's apartment for a late evening/early morning saun. Unfortunately we couldn't get the saun to work, so Eerik and I headed out towards the Vironia C!Q! I ended up getting back to the apartment sometime around 8 or 9am. Helluva party!
Sunday was a bit of a write-off as I had to get on the bus to head back to Tallinn. People tried convincing me to stay, but as Monday was my first work day, that wasn't much of an option. I said good-bye to my Toronto friends, and poured myself onto the bus. Slept most of the way back, got to the apartment and slept like a baby.
Monday morning still not feeling 100%, I woke up early to head in to work. I'm used to 6am starts at the golf course, but here I'm spoiled with 7am starts. Still entertaining the thought of starting at 6am just so I can get out a little earlier. Things are increadibly relax at this course. It's a tiny staff, but it seems like everyone knows what they have to do, and they go about their business. To me, it seems a little bit unorganized, however it might just be that I need to get familiarized with how they operate. I've already noticed some things in my first day that I think could be improved or changed, but those are things I can deal with in the coming weeks.
So today getting home from work, the reality of being in Eesti hit me. Until now, I've still felt like I'm going home in a couple of days. But having done the first day of work, and coming home it struck me that I'm here for a long haul. I've surrounded myself here with great family and friends, but it's still a little unsettling that I won't be seeing my family for quite a while. I'm sure over the next couple days and weeks I'll get into some kind of routine and get used to the day to day life here.
I think these coming weeks will really help me figure out how long I feel I want to live in Eesti. It was the best time for me to take the plunge and move over here when I left, but there are always a lot of unknowns. Once I start figuring out some answers, I'll start to feel more relaxed.
Hope you enjoyed the read.
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Long Walks and Beautiful Weather
So on Monday I went and picked up my car from the dealership. She'd been nicely cleaned up, and all set for my pick-up. Signed some paper work, looked a few things over, handed over a wad of cash and off I went. I was actually really surprised how easy it is to buy a car here. When I went to the ARK office (Ministry of Transportation) to officially sign the car over to my name it went incredibly easily. Took less than ten minutes, and strangely enough nobody asked to see my driver's licence once. I've gone for a couple drives so far, but nothing too long. Really haven't had the need to. Just about everything from my apartment is within walking distance. I have to admit though, that I do laugh just about every time I look at my car. Sure, it's 18 years old, but what business do I have owning a BMW?!
Anyways, the weather this past week has been fantastic so most days I'll go for a walk about town or through Kadriorg for an hour or two. Tuesday evening I went to my mom's relatives place for dinner out in Merivälja. These were the relatives that I stayed with the majority of my time here two years ago and it was great seeing them again. We had a great meal, sat around chatting for a couple hours, and got to see my little cousin Oliver again. And let me tell you, that kid has grown up quite a bit. After that I dropped the car off at home and swung by the Vironia maja for a few drinks and to see some of the guys I hadn't yet seen. T'was an enjoyable, although slightly late evening.
On Wednesday I met up with my good friend Tuuli for lunch who was in Tallinn visiting her parents from Brussels. Hadn't seen her in nearly two years and it was great getting to sit down and chat with her over lunch. We went to a fantastic restaurant at the top of the Solaris plaza. Not a place I'm going to go on a regular basis because the prices are a little on the steep side, but the food and the view was unbelievable.
Thursday was spent doing some stuff around apartment (believe it or not Ema, I'm actually able to keep the place quite clean), and then met up with Hillar Lauri for lunch. We went to a fantastic, new restaurant in Kalamaja called F-Hoone. Amazing food, and REALLY cool restaurant. If I didn't know any better I would have thought I was eating somewhere in the Distillery District. Hillar's been a great source of information for me here with regards of where to look for certain things to buy, concerts to go to, and various other things. In the evening I met up with Tuuli and one of her friends Priit for dinner. We ended up going to a lovely restaurant called F-Hoone.....Wait, I'd already eaten there that day. No matter, I took a seat one over from the one I ate lunch at, and the waitress hardly batted an eyelash when she saw me again. After dinner we went to Priit's place for a few drinks then shut'er down sometime just before 2am.
Friday back at home I'm sure the family did the usual church and big family get-together, but haven't heard much about that. Still waiting to hear who ruined Easter guys. Really hoping someone stepped up to the plate. I didn't really do all that much during the day, and in the evening we went to a friend's place for drinks before going out on the town. The one thing I'm still adjusting to is here people don't go until well after mid-night. Back in Canada if you're going to a bar or club, normally you'll head there for 11pm or so because they have to shut their doors sometime after 2am. Well we left Martin's place sometime after midnight, went to a bar for a few hours, then headed to a club around 3am. I made my way in to the club only to remember that I'm not a club-goer. Just not a fan of the music, too crowded, and the fact that I'm not much of a dancer doesn't help.....or maybe I'm just getting old. I stuck around for maybe 20-30mins then decided it'd be best I hit the road.
Woke up on Saturday morning with a tiny bit of a headache so I watched a movie, went for a short walk and got ready for the evening. I had been invited to Tuuli's place for the first BBQ of the season. For a little while I thought about driving over to her place, but the weather was just too nice not to have a couple of drinks in the sun. Sat down with her family for a great meal, and fantastic conversation. Her grandfather has to be one of the funniest guys I've ever met. 80 years young, and sharp as anything. Just a wicked sense of humour and had the table in stitches for the entire evening.
Today I had a nice leisurely morning (those are really the only kinds I've had thus far) and in the afternoon I drove over to Onu Mati's place to drop some stuff off, and pick up a few other various things I needed for the apartment. And as luck would have it, I showed up in time for lunch! Ate with Onu Mati and Tädi Eha, and since it was such a nice day, Onu Mati and I drove out to the golf course just so I could get a feel for the drive out there before I go meet up with my bosses on Tuesday. From my place I'm guessing the drive will take 20-30mins. Unfortunately the Peterburi mnt right now is under construction, but once that gets cleared up I'll be flying to work in no time.
Spent maybe 10-15mins walking around the grounds, and took a look inside the clubhouse. And let me tell you what, I cannot WAIT to start working. It is an absolutely GORGEOUS piece of property!! The course still seems to be in pretty rough shape, but in a couple weeks things should start looking better. I'll borrow a friends camera at some point and try to post some pictures sometime soon.
Don't really have too much planned for the next couple of days. Probably go out for a coffee with Tuuli tomorrow before she heads off to Brussels again, Tuesday I'm driving back out to the golf course to meet up with my bosses and sign my contract, then on Wednesday the first folks from Canada and Sweden are showing up for Volber.....Ok, maybe I do have quite a bit planned for the next couple of days. Looking forward to seeing some familiar faces, and then heading down to Tartu for the weekend.
Hope you're all well.
Anyways, the weather this past week has been fantastic so most days I'll go for a walk about town or through Kadriorg for an hour or two. Tuesday evening I went to my mom's relatives place for dinner out in Merivälja. These were the relatives that I stayed with the majority of my time here two years ago and it was great seeing them again. We had a great meal, sat around chatting for a couple hours, and got to see my little cousin Oliver again. And let me tell you, that kid has grown up quite a bit. After that I dropped the car off at home and swung by the Vironia maja for a few drinks and to see some of the guys I hadn't yet seen. T'was an enjoyable, although slightly late evening.
On Wednesday I met up with my good friend Tuuli for lunch who was in Tallinn visiting her parents from Brussels. Hadn't seen her in nearly two years and it was great getting to sit down and chat with her over lunch. We went to a fantastic restaurant at the top of the Solaris plaza. Not a place I'm going to go on a regular basis because the prices are a little on the steep side, but the food and the view was unbelievable.
Thursday was spent doing some stuff around apartment (believe it or not Ema, I'm actually able to keep the place quite clean), and then met up with Hillar Lauri for lunch. We went to a fantastic, new restaurant in Kalamaja called F-Hoone. Amazing food, and REALLY cool restaurant. If I didn't know any better I would have thought I was eating somewhere in the Distillery District. Hillar's been a great source of information for me here with regards of where to look for certain things to buy, concerts to go to, and various other things. In the evening I met up with Tuuli and one of her friends Priit for dinner. We ended up going to a lovely restaurant called F-Hoone.....Wait, I'd already eaten there that day. No matter, I took a seat one over from the one I ate lunch at, and the waitress hardly batted an eyelash when she saw me again. After dinner we went to Priit's place for a few drinks then shut'er down sometime just before 2am.
Friday back at home I'm sure the family did the usual church and big family get-together, but haven't heard much about that. Still waiting to hear who ruined Easter guys. Really hoping someone stepped up to the plate. I didn't really do all that much during the day, and in the evening we went to a friend's place for drinks before going out on the town. The one thing I'm still adjusting to is here people don't go until well after mid-night. Back in Canada if you're going to a bar or club, normally you'll head there for 11pm or so because they have to shut their doors sometime after 2am. Well we left Martin's place sometime after midnight, went to a bar for a few hours, then headed to a club around 3am. I made my way in to the club only to remember that I'm not a club-goer. Just not a fan of the music, too crowded, and the fact that I'm not much of a dancer doesn't help.....or maybe I'm just getting old. I stuck around for maybe 20-30mins then decided it'd be best I hit the road.
Woke up on Saturday morning with a tiny bit of a headache so I watched a movie, went for a short walk and got ready for the evening. I had been invited to Tuuli's place for the first BBQ of the season. For a little while I thought about driving over to her place, but the weather was just too nice not to have a couple of drinks in the sun. Sat down with her family for a great meal, and fantastic conversation. Her grandfather has to be one of the funniest guys I've ever met. 80 years young, and sharp as anything. Just a wicked sense of humour and had the table in stitches for the entire evening.
Today I had a nice leisurely morning (those are really the only kinds I've had thus far) and in the afternoon I drove over to Onu Mati's place to drop some stuff off, and pick up a few other various things I needed for the apartment. And as luck would have it, I showed up in time for lunch! Ate with Onu Mati and Tädi Eha, and since it was such a nice day, Onu Mati and I drove out to the golf course just so I could get a feel for the drive out there before I go meet up with my bosses on Tuesday. From my place I'm guessing the drive will take 20-30mins. Unfortunately the Peterburi mnt right now is under construction, but once that gets cleared up I'll be flying to work in no time.
Spent maybe 10-15mins walking around the grounds, and took a look inside the clubhouse. And let me tell you what, I cannot WAIT to start working. It is an absolutely GORGEOUS piece of property!! The course still seems to be in pretty rough shape, but in a couple weeks things should start looking better. I'll borrow a friends camera at some point and try to post some pictures sometime soon.
Don't really have too much planned for the next couple of days. Probably go out for a coffee with Tuuli tomorrow before she heads off to Brussels again, Tuesday I'm driving back out to the golf course to meet up with my bosses and sign my contract, then on Wednesday the first folks from Canada and Sweden are showing up for Volber.....Ok, maybe I do have quite a bit planned for the next couple of days. Looking forward to seeing some familiar faces, and then heading down to Tartu for the weekend.
Hope you're all well.
Sunday, April 17, 2011
First House Guest and Birthday
So Mikey arrived back in Tallinn with the hockey team on Thursday evening. Worked out really nicely because they dropped him off at the hockey federation building which was like a 10 min walk from my place. He said his farewells to the boys on the hockey team, and wished them luck in the Ukraine.
We came back to my place, got him settled in, made some dinner then went for a walk through town. Mike hasn't had the opportunity to see much of Eesti other than hockey rinks and the gym so we took a quick evening stroll through vana linn. Next day we woke up early and took off to see the sites of vana linn. A beautiful spring day greeted us so our first stop was Oleviste kirik to climb up the tower and get a look of the city. Mike says he's a little claustrophobic and scared of heights....still made it up the tower and he was blown away by the views. After that it was off to grab a quick bite to eat, then to the Occupation Museum for a little bit of history. Finished off our tour going through Viru keskus so Mike could get his parents some souvenirs.
As Friday was my birthday as well, it was necessary to have a bit of a party to celebrate and christen the new crib. Had about 15 people over at the apartment for some drinks and catching up before we hit the town. Ended up going to a couple of bars and clubs, having a great time and getting home at some early hour.
Slept most of Saturday away, but upon waking up Mike and I went for another walk towards vana linn, grabbed a bite to eat then swung by Raoul Langvee's apartment for a drink, and so Mike could see the nice views from his place. Finished the day by watching a little bit of hockey on the computer and getting a good night's sleep.
Today's Mike's last day, so we got an early start to the day. Once again we took a nice long walk along the seaside towards Lauluväljak because Mike had not seen that yet. It was pretty cool because there was a choir practicing there. Even with just twenty people singing the acoustics there are AMAZING!! Walked back to the apartment through Kadriorg with a brief stop at the Presidential palace.
Picking up my car tomorrow afternoon, then probably on Tuesday or Wednesday I'll swing by the golf course for a bit of a tour. Really looking forward to finally seeing the course. It's at that point I'll also beg to start work a little early.
We also heard that we won the Baltic Cup on Friday night. Mike and I were pretty stoked to say the least when we got the news around 3:30 or 4 am in the morning! Well done boys!!
We came back to my place, got him settled in, made some dinner then went for a walk through town. Mike hasn't had the opportunity to see much of Eesti other than hockey rinks and the gym so we took a quick evening stroll through vana linn. Next day we woke up early and took off to see the sites of vana linn. A beautiful spring day greeted us so our first stop was Oleviste kirik to climb up the tower and get a look of the city. Mike says he's a little claustrophobic and scared of heights....still made it up the tower and he was blown away by the views. After that it was off to grab a quick bite to eat, then to the Occupation Museum for a little bit of history. Finished off our tour going through Viru keskus so Mike could get his parents some souvenirs.
As Friday was my birthday as well, it was necessary to have a bit of a party to celebrate and christen the new crib. Had about 15 people over at the apartment for some drinks and catching up before we hit the town. Ended up going to a couple of bars and clubs, having a great time and getting home at some early hour.
Slept most of Saturday away, but upon waking up Mike and I went for another walk towards vana linn, grabbed a bite to eat then swung by Raoul Langvee's apartment for a drink, and so Mike could see the nice views from his place. Finished the day by watching a little bit of hockey on the computer and getting a good night's sleep.
Today's Mike's last day, so we got an early start to the day. Once again we took a nice long walk along the seaside towards Lauluväljak because Mike had not seen that yet. It was pretty cool because there was a choir practicing there. Even with just twenty people singing the acoustics there are AMAZING!! Walked back to the apartment through Kadriorg with a brief stop at the Presidential palace.
Picking up my car tomorrow afternoon, then probably on Tuesday or Wednesday I'll swing by the golf course for a bit of a tour. Really looking forward to finally seeing the course. It's at that point I'll also beg to start work a little early.
We also heard that we won the Baltic Cup on Friday night. Mike and I were pretty stoked to say the least when we got the news around 3:30 or 4 am in the morning! Well done boys!!
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Getting Settled
For the first few days after arriving it was spent more or less trying to get stuff set up so I could get my own place. Opened up a bank, and did some searching for a car and apartment. I had my eyes on one apartment out in Pirita. Looked like a really nice place, in a quiet neighbourhood, with a sweet roof top patio. Unfortunately (or fortunately, in retrospect), it had already been rented/bought by the time the real estate agent got back to me. After that Onu Mati and I went by a few car dealerships to look at cars.
It's kind of hard finding a car here in the price range I was willing to pay since most people either buy brand new or serious beaters that need constant up-keep. I actually ended up getting lucky and finding a 93 BMW 3 series coupe in my price range that ran like a dream. Took the car out for a test drive and the previous owner had done a great job of keeping the car in amazing condition. I consulted The Boy about the vehicle, and he said if I can get it at the right price it's a great, reliable automobile. I low balled an offer, the owner countered, and after some back and forth we had a deal. Paid a little bit more than I probably should have, but I think the owner and I were both happy with the deal we came to. I still don't have the car because the owner had to drive back to Tartu to pick up the summer tires and do a couple other things for the sale to go through, but I get it on Monday.
Next on the agenda was finding a place of my own. Staying with my relatives out in Viimsi was great, but after spending five or six nights there I was ready to get out on my own. Spent some time on-line searching. Some places looked really nice, others were serious dumps. I went and looked at a few places in various areas of Tallinn. One apartment I looked at didn't really seem that appealing from the pictures posted online, but I figured it was in a nice part of town (Kadriorg), so I'm looking anyway, might as well pop by. The pictures really didn't do the place any justice. It's a little two room apartment, with a pretty spacious living room (with fireplace), and a good sized bedroom. What really sold me was the cool looking original doors and antique cabinets. Fell in love with the place, and got the agent to organize the rental.
Yesterday (Tuesday, April 12), I signed the rental agreement and moved in. Before I could actually get settled in, the owner of the apartment asked that I head out for a couple hours so he can get the rest of his stuff out of the place. This suited me just fine since I had promised Mike that I'd go watch the National hockey team play the Finns. I figured since going to a hockey game by yourself isn't much fun, I gave my good friend Eva here a call to see if she'd care to join me. As she had never been to a game before, who better to go with than a big-dumb Canadian? We had a great time watching the game even though Eesti ended up loosing 6-3 (I think). After that Eva and I went for a quick bite to eat, and swung by a Prisma so I could get some stuff for the apartment. I tell ya, it's useful knowing locals who know where to shop.
So after getting dropped off at the old homestead I spent the remainder of the evening getting settled in. It was like christmas in April! I had shipped over 7 boxes of various stuff a month or so ago, and it was nice seeing everything coming out of boxes in one piece (thankfully the big bottle of Frank's Red Hot I brought didn't break). I did however learn that suits and dress shirts don't particularly enjoy being shipped in boxes. After having unpacked I watched ManU beat Chelsea in the Champions League with a wee nip of scotch to christen the new crib.
Unfortunately for Mike his dream of playing for the National hockey team has come to an end. He's officially been told he's ineligible for the World Championships in Ukraine. Really sucks for him, but (this is going to sound strange) I couldn't be happier for him. He came over here following his dream, gave it his all, and things didn't work out for him because of IIHF rules. So because he's not travelling to the Ukraine he's going to be my first house guest. All he's been able to see of Eesti until this point is the airport, the rink in Tartu and Tallinn, the residence he's been staying, and some stores close by. It'll be nice getting to show him around Tallinn for a couple of days before he heads back to Canada.
Nothing terribly exciting on the horizon. Mike's going to give me a hand cruising around town to help me get stuff for the apartment, we'll go out and see some of the sites, and on Friday night I'm having some friends over for a house warming/birthday party. I get the car on Monday then sometime next week I'll go visit the golf course and beg to start work early.
It's kind of hard finding a car here in the price range I was willing to pay since most people either buy brand new or serious beaters that need constant up-keep. I actually ended up getting lucky and finding a 93 BMW 3 series coupe in my price range that ran like a dream. Took the car out for a test drive and the previous owner had done a great job of keeping the car in amazing condition. I consulted The Boy about the vehicle, and he said if I can get it at the right price it's a great, reliable automobile. I low balled an offer, the owner countered, and after some back and forth we had a deal. Paid a little bit more than I probably should have, but I think the owner and I were both happy with the deal we came to. I still don't have the car because the owner had to drive back to Tartu to pick up the summer tires and do a couple other things for the sale to go through, but I get it on Monday.
Next on the agenda was finding a place of my own. Staying with my relatives out in Viimsi was great, but after spending five or six nights there I was ready to get out on my own. Spent some time on-line searching. Some places looked really nice, others were serious dumps. I went and looked at a few places in various areas of Tallinn. One apartment I looked at didn't really seem that appealing from the pictures posted online, but I figured it was in a nice part of town (Kadriorg), so I'm looking anyway, might as well pop by. The pictures really didn't do the place any justice. It's a little two room apartment, with a pretty spacious living room (with fireplace), and a good sized bedroom. What really sold me was the cool looking original doors and antique cabinets. Fell in love with the place, and got the agent to organize the rental.
Yesterday (Tuesday, April 12), I signed the rental agreement and moved in. Before I could actually get settled in, the owner of the apartment asked that I head out for a couple hours so he can get the rest of his stuff out of the place. This suited me just fine since I had promised Mike that I'd go watch the National hockey team play the Finns. I figured since going to a hockey game by yourself isn't much fun, I gave my good friend Eva here a call to see if she'd care to join me. As she had never been to a game before, who better to go with than a big-dumb Canadian? We had a great time watching the game even though Eesti ended up loosing 6-3 (I think). After that Eva and I went for a quick bite to eat, and swung by a Prisma so I could get some stuff for the apartment. I tell ya, it's useful knowing locals who know where to shop.
So after getting dropped off at the old homestead I spent the remainder of the evening getting settled in. It was like christmas in April! I had shipped over 7 boxes of various stuff a month or so ago, and it was nice seeing everything coming out of boxes in one piece (thankfully the big bottle of Frank's Red Hot I brought didn't break). I did however learn that suits and dress shirts don't particularly enjoy being shipped in boxes. After having unpacked I watched ManU beat Chelsea in the Champions League with a wee nip of scotch to christen the new crib.
Unfortunately for Mike his dream of playing for the National hockey team has come to an end. He's officially been told he's ineligible for the World Championships in Ukraine. Really sucks for him, but (this is going to sound strange) I couldn't be happier for him. He came over here following his dream, gave it his all, and things didn't work out for him because of IIHF rules. So because he's not travelling to the Ukraine he's going to be my first house guest. All he's been able to see of Eesti until this point is the airport, the rink in Tartu and Tallinn, the residence he's been staying, and some stores close by. It'll be nice getting to show him around Tallinn for a couple of days before he heads back to Canada.
Nothing terribly exciting on the horizon. Mike's going to give me a hand cruising around town to help me get stuff for the apartment, we'll go out and see some of the sites, and on Friday night I'm having some friends over for a house warming/birthday party. I get the car on Monday then sometime next week I'll go visit the golf course and beg to start work early.
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