Getting my Driver's Licence

February 18th 2015, was another landmark day during my ‘Great Canadian Journey’. It was the day I became a licensed driver. Yes of course, I studied a bit before the test and also took some classes. These classes taught me that knowing to drive is the easy part but it takes more than this to get a license here. Knowing the rules constitutes a major part of the test. I was told the do's and the don'ts of each section. I met a few people who shared their experiences and how they failed the first time they gave the test.

Their stories made me a bit nervous as failing was not an option. Not because I don’t like to fail it was more because giving the test is not only an expensive affair but also a very time consuming. The test was booked for 9 am. I went to bed early, but was up most of the night tossing and turning worrying about the test.

It was an unusually cold February morning. The awaited time had come. My heart was pounding. The only thing going through my mind was "Garvin don’t mess this up. It's your only chance." The test started off well, yes, I did make a few mistakes but there were no major mishaps or accidents and I finally returned back to the test center without any major mishaps.

All nervous, I sat there waiting for my results. it all ended when that sweet lady looked at me and said those words my ears longed for "Garvin Rebello, congratulations! You've passed the test."
All adding up to:
Driver's License: Check.

Canadian International Autoshow

Here are a few clicks from my trip to the Canadian International Auto show held at the Toronto Metro Convention Center. This was my first visit to an auto show and it was such a great experience.

Women's Day

Next month, on the 8^th of March, the world will celebrate 'International Women’s Day.' First celebrated in the United States, 1909, this day is celebrated to honour women for their achievement in various fields.

Why celebrate women some would ask. To them I say, why not? Look at how far women have gone in today. From running corporations to countries, they have come a long way, when you look back at history and read about the struggles they faced to gain equal rights as men. They do deserve some credit.

From the Joan of Arc, to Rosa Parks not giving up her seat on the bus to Angela Merkel of today, and the women they represent; they sure deserve credit for their achievements.

In spite of all the progress, we as society, have made in terms of treating women equally, there are still so many parts of the world where women are still suffering.  Every day, we hear the news of women being attacked, raped, kidnapped, denied education, harassed at the workplace etc.

On Women’s Day, let's make it a point to not only celebrate their achievements but also create awareness about the struggles they still face in many parts of the world. They deserve respect. Let's set an example.

Here is a little article, dug out from the archives for International Women’s Day that will help put things in perspective.

https://www.marxists.org/archive/kollonta/1913/womens-day.htm

Three Parent babies.

Last week, the news read, UK to pass a law legally allowing for a three parent baby.  At first, I thought to myself is that even possible? Reading further, I realized it has something to do with mitochondrial engineering to prevent the mitochondrial diseases in children. There is a lot of debate on crossing ethical boundaries and the long term effects of this process.

According to an article I read, in "The Independent," mitochondrial disorder is said to be in 1 in 200 children, whereas only 1 in 10000 severely affected.

I am no expert, but shouldn’t scientist try and put in more of an effort to try and find cures for diseases like Aids, Cancer and solutions for eradication of hunger and poverty which affects millions of children around the world.

I personally feel that since a lot of people are getting affected by these diseases, scientists along with the help of the government should pay a little more attention towards eliminating those problems first. Don’t you?

Crossing Boundaries

Once man figured out how to sail the oceans, people left their homes, crossed the ocean and went in search of different lands; to start up a business, educate themselves or start a new life. The Europeans moved to America, Asia etc. centuries ago. Indians, being the enterprising people that they are, moved to different corners of the globe.

Being an Indian myself, I too joined the lot. Moved all the way to the west to Canada to start afresh. Not that there was anything wrong with the way things were back home, but there comes a point where one says to oneself, I need to do something different now, I need to experience new things in life. Now isn't that what life is about? After all, variety is the spice of life.

The plan was simple. Go to Canada, get a job and settle slowly into things. I'm not the first to do this. There were millions who left home and came to this country to settle down. But having worked at the same company for many years, I never had to look for a new job. Actually, I never learnt how to look for a job because I secured a campus placement straight out of university. There were so many things I didn't know about job hunting which I am learning now. Everyday I learn something new. Things I am supposed to do and things I am not.  Like, out here it's called resume and not CV, always ask some to check your resume for you. It is very difficult to catch your own mistakes.(the human brain works in a funny way).

Everybody before me said,"Oh Wow! You're coming to Canada. You will really like it.." But nobody told me about the difficult part of it. So I am here, learning the tricks. But I'm sure there will be a day when I wake up to that most awaited call, and I will see the Canada people told me about.