Lesley and Jonathan

Today, I submitted my letter of resignation at IBM. The emotion of leaving IBM won’t sink in until two weeks from now when I actually have to say goodbye to all the friends I made since 2002. I had a lot of success at IBM, but it’s time to turn the page and start a new chapter in my life. I can not express in words just how excited I am to be living with Lesley in Toronto. It’s been fun traveling back and forth, but having to leave Les after a weekend or rare week in Toronto is always sad.

In three days, Les and I will be married six months and we are finally getting the opportunity to live our lives together, under the same roof. I could not be happier. On May 5th, I am renting a car and driving up to my new home. I already know that is going to be an exciting, emotional ride for me. I’m leaving my family and the only city I’ve ever known, Brooklyn. Eight hours later, I will be in my new city, starting a new life with the woman I love. I only wish Les were taking the ride with me, but knowing she will be home when I get there is exciting enough. I can’t wait to drop my bags at the door and call out “Honey, I’m home.”

Then, I need to find a job. =)

This past weekend, my dad and I took a rented minivan up to Toronto.  The contents of such were countless books, some clothes, appliances, and two cats.  The trip was fun (my dad drove 3 about hours, I put in about 5) and we got to Toronto at a fairly decent hour.  That evening Les, me, and my dad joined a few friends for dinner at Spacco.  The next day we cleaned-up a bit and had dinner at Lesley’s parents’ house.  Andrea joined us for dinner.  Great times.

There was a really bad storm in NY and we didn’t think my dad and I would take off.  Luckily the storm passed and we made it home; albeit a little nauseous from the flight.

It’s very strange to be back home with little to no personal effects and certainly no cats.

Overall, the Canadian immigration process was a thrilling experience.  Lesley and I both expected the process to take anywhere from 4 to 6 months so when we learned that I was approved in less than 3, we were very happy.  This past weekend I flew to Toronto and “landed” at Pearson Airport.  Landing means my visa is stamped and I officially become a Permanent Resident (or Landed Immigrant) of Canada.  I am not a Canadian Citizen, or Canadian, but I can legally live and work in Canada just like everyone else.  After three years of living in Canada, I have the option of applying for Canadian Citizenship.  I’m not sure that is something I want to do, but ask me again in three years.

Moving my stuff up to Canada is next, then comes closing out my rental, utilities, and my job.  As soon as we work out a few details, we will make another post with our time line.

For now we will just enjoy this moment for a few days before moving on to the next big challenge.

It’s been a whirlwind of activity since Lesley and I returned from our honeymoon at Verana. Before getting into that, let me tell you about the resort. Heavenly Bliss. Ok, now that I told you about the resort, let me tell you what we did during our week in Mexico.

On Tuesday, February 27th Lesley and I flew together to O’Hare in Chicago and then hopped a flight to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. The owners of the resort rent a place in PV in the event guests want to come a day early or stay in PV after their trip to Verana. PV is a really pretty city with San Francisco like streets and great shopping. After we were promptly awoken by the local rooster just before dawn, Lesley and I took a shuttle to Boca where met up with Verana’s water taxi. After a 20 minute boat ride along the coast, we found ourselves in the town of Yelapa, Mexico, where we walked up the mountain for another 15 minutes and finally reached the resort. The first thing you notice is the breathtaking views. Then you notice the amazing resort.

The day we arrived at Verana it was my 34th birthday. I knew Lesley had a surprise for me, but I wasn’t sure what. Ironically, the manager of the resort had the itinerary opened for each day and I noticed in yellow highlight, “birthday cake for Jonathan.” Thankfully, that wasn’t my surprise. Just before dinner, Lesley and I had a couples massage. If that wasn’t enough, we had a really great first night dinner. Just after dinner, we were told to go to our rooms and come back with our robes. When we did, we were brought to a secluded part of the resort lit only by candlelight. There was a “warm” milk and honey bath, a dipping pool, massage table, and all the commodities of a spa; including the massage table! It was the best surprise of my life and by far, the best birthday present ever!

We must have been so relaxed that we ended up only doing one activity out of four for the week and walking down to the town of Yelapa once. Lesley posted about 100 photos to her Kodak Gallery and I only posted a modest 350+. We even did a photo shoot of our own near the beautiful pool. If you goto my photoblog, you can see some of the photos from our trip that I processed. The rest can be found in my online portfolio in the near future.

Jonathan and I participated in our first fashion shoot in NYC on February 25th, just before we left for Mexico.  It was quite an event.  I styled the looks which took a bit of preparation (i.e. brainstorming & lots of shopping).  It was a ton of fun, but a lot of work.  We had no idea what to expect the day of.  We were there over 8 hours and were only able to shoot 3 looks out of about 8.  The hair and make up process took a while as well as the fittings on the modes.  We think the pictures are great, but you can be the judge of that.  We will be doing another shoot in Toronto mid-March.