Ottawa Anyone?

[theRabidWolf]

Come on, we near the Parliment buildings need some fun too!

Any BHM's, FFA's or BBW's around these here parts?


:D

[jiggles]

ottawa? who are you

[ciaobella]

I'm from Ottawa :D

[jiggles]

and who might I be?:rolleyes: :rolleyes: :D

[ciaobella]

Well seeing as how I have a public profile already, how about you introduce yourself first? :p

[Tad]

I used to be from Ottawa (well, on and off, about 19 of the last 30 years). We moved down to southern ontario summer 2005, but since we still miss Ottawa I'm currently trying to find work back there. Mind you, my wife had/has no interest in the BBW/FA scene, so even if we were back in Ottawa you'd never see me at an event. Hmmmm, it might have been kind of pointless replying to this thread *L*

[ReallyNiceFellow]

I'm new to this board, and I'm from Ottawa, but unfortunatley I haven't met up with too many bbws here; most of my intersting encounters have been in Toronto or US cities. I keep hoping, though.

[Tad]

After 18 months in southern Ontario, getting back to Ottawa. Started work today, family won't be up for a few weeks yet.

So anything important change in the last while? Like great new restaurants with large portions and low prices, or any decent independent plus sizes stores open up?

As is I'm looking forward to going to The Works again for one of those amazing burgers!

-Ed

[MattB]

Hmmmm...No posts in the Ottawa thread since 2006...I guess I'll add myself in...here I go...

"Yes. I am from Ottawa as well."

Anyone have a favourite restaurant?? I'll throw Pho Moonlight in Kanata out there. What this town needs is a really good buffet though...

[burning_sky]

FFA in Ottawa here. I've heard somewhere we have the most restaurants per square footage out of any cities in Canada, is that true in any way?

[Tad]

I'd not heard that, but Ottawa does seem to have a pretty goodly number of restaurants. Although I'd say the ratio of restaurants to get a good and/or healthy meal at, versus the number of places where the main attraction is the volume of food to the price, is higher in Ottawa than a lot of places. That is, there are not so many "you go here to seriously pig out" places in town, but lots of places to get a fairly decent meal.

Or maybe my view is coloured by the neighborhood that I'm in, where there is no fast food or buffets and even the diners aren't so over the top on portions.

[MattB]

...but we may have the most mobile chipwagons per capita of any city. They're everywhere...

[burning_sky]

It's all those french government workers getting their poutine on at lunch. I know this lady who likes hers with sour cream. :D Now that I've probably offended someone, I'll go back to lurking.

[~nai'a~]

Does Gatineau count? :happy:

Is there that much poutine in Ottawa...? I never noticed but then again, I don't work for the Government..... ;)


edx..... " ...entendre ton rire comme on entend la mer, s'arrêter, partir en
arrière..." (Renaud)

Name that tune.... Hahahaha!:D

[Tad]

Does Gatineau count? :happy:

Is there that much poutine in Ottawa...? I never noticed but then again, I don't work for the Government..... ;)


edx..... " ...entendre ton rire comme on entend la mer, s'arrêter, partir en
arrière..." (Renaud)

Name that tune.... Hahahaha!:D

Welcome Nai'a!

You don't see chip wagon in gatineau, but where I work on St. Joseph Boul (in what used to be Hull), it is only a few blocks in either direction along the street to find the equivalent, but in a building (although one of them almost looks like a chip wagon, being a little shed not much bigger, with the same sort of ordering window).

And for the song lyric, I think it is from Mistral Gagnant, but I haven't checked (I do have "The Meillerur of Renaud 1985-95" (and yes that is what it is called) here at work, so I'll have to put it on my headphones and check.

Oh, and I also don't work for the government.

As for Burning Sky's comment about 'french government workers' being the reason for the chip wagons.....stereotyping much? And how does that explain the three chip wagons you'll find heading through Hintonburg and Wesboro along Wellington/Richmond? I think there are lots of people who like fries and poutine! (Besides, don't complain, I figure the chip wagons are Ottawa's best chance to grow more BBW :D )

[~nai'a~]

edx....

You've just won what's behind door number 1..... It is Mistral gagnant! ;)

I was kidding a bit about the fries and poutine! Hahaha!

We ssbbw's have to maintain our curves.... :D

[burning_sky]

I know it's a stereotype of course, but I've seen too many real life examples. :p As a side note, though, those chip wagon guys make a very tidy profit, certainly much more than I will ever earn, so I'm not turning my nose up.

[~nai'a~]

Don't be sorry Burning_sky..... :happy:

I'll think about this post when I see a chip wagon, smiling....:D

[SpecialK]

Well, I'm not actually in Ottawa, but I'm not too far. I'm just east of Kingston.

[shygirl]

I live about an hour away from Ottawa. I don't get out that way too often though.

[MattB]

Is everyone coping okay with the OC Transpo strike??

[Tad]

Fortunately I do have a car, I just don't like driving it regularly. So I can still get around OK, I'm just grumpy. My wife does not drive, and it is not really good conditions for biking, so she is feeling more pinched.

I was probably more affected by the closer of the Chaudiere bridge, as I take it to work no matter how I travel, but thankfully it is back open to at least cars and pedestrians and cyclists. I don't know if the buses will be allowed back on it when it re-opens, or not.

How about you, Matt?

[jiggles]

Until I have somewhere to go I haven't felt the impact yet.... The joys of being a student that is stuck in front of a computer all day... however next week, needing to do some Christmas shopping I bet I will not be so neutral....

[MattB]

All is okay for me so far. I have to drive my spouse to work every day now, but I have a sales job where I have to travel 3-4 days a week anyways so my schedule is somewhat flexible and I can adjust it for now. Having the Chaudiere reopen for cars was huge this week...

If you live in Ottawa you have to get used to traffic jams on a good day let alone during a bus strike, or during protests on the Hill...but I feel really horrible for people who are stranded at home by the strike right now. When I visit an account for work, I've started asking if anyone needs a ride anywhere, taxis are a 2 hour wait if you're lucky...

Lord help us if there is a major fire somewhere during rush hour!

[BBW Soultra]

Well I'm from Ottawa...have travelled and lived elsewhere
but made my way back home to good ol O-Town...

Cant wait for the stupid buses to start running again!

[MattB]

Well I'm from Ottawa...have travelled and lived elsewhere
but made my way back home to good ol O-Town...

Cant wait for the stupid buses to start running again!

Me too! It's going to be nice to get the city back to normal..."Stupid buses" is a very appropriate description right now...I just hope that cooler heads prevail on Saturday when they come back...

[Tad]

I can't wait for the buses to be back either. Stupid strike!

I was actually thinking, how a lot of people normally dependent on the buses were making long walks to get where they needed to be. But not everyone is up to walking for a couple of hours.....they are elderly, or have joint problems.....or are really fat. Ottawa already doesn't have that many bigger folk compared to a lot of places, and amongst all the other pains of the strike, it probably made the city that much tougher for them. A minor note in the whole issue, but one small extra reason to be annoyed by the strike :p

[SpecialK]

I was in Ottawa this past weekend.

What a beautiful city you have there! I love it!

Did anyone go see John Pinette at the NAC? He was fabulous!!!

I skated (for a very brief while, mind you... I forgot how much figure skates HURT my feet) on the canal on sunny Saturday afternoon and was reminded how winter doesn't just suck. :)

And I also went to Le Nordik in Old Chelsea. Daaayum! That place is heaven on earth, I swear!

All in all, a GREAT weekend in the capital region! I can imagine the transpo strike was a huge pain for a lot, but we walked from our hotel to wherever we needed to go until driving to the spa so we didn't have to worry about that, but the parking rates.... good lord!! More expensive than Toronto!!

[Tad]

*doh* about the parking.....for the strike, all the spots marked as 2 or 3 hour max....you were allowed to park at them all day. Probably could have avoided paying those ridiculous amounts. Sorry, didn't think of that when you mentioned you'd be up here.

[SpecialK]

Damn!! Oh well, at least I know my car was safe in the parking garage. *shrug*

[BBW Soultra]

I can't wait for the buses to be back either. Stupid strike!

I was actually thinking, how a lot of people normally dependent on the buses were making long walks to get where they needed to be. But not everyone is up to walking for a couple of hours.....they are elderly, or have joint problems.....or are really fat. Ottawa already doesn't have that many bigger folk compared to a lot of places, and amongst all the other pains of the strike, it probably made the city that much tougher for them. A minor note in the whole issue, but one small extra reason to be annoyed by the strike :p

Stupid strike indeed!

And for those of us who are fat...it's made us that much fatter!

I've read some pretty outrageous stories of people having to walk
during all times of the day just to be able to make it on time to where
they are going...many people have lost their jobs and just trying to cope
and recover after this grueling strike will be one for the books!

[Tad]

Stupid strike indeed!

And for those of us who are fat...it's made us that much fatter!



Haha! True here, actually....instead of a couple of kilometres of walk along with my bus ride most days, I ended up driving every day, and put on two or three pounds.

[BBW Soultra]

I ended up driving every day, and put on two or three pounds.

I am totally feeling you on that one!

But thank God that things are returning back to the norm...
It was nice being able to save on those bus rides and i tried to take
advantage of the free periods of riding but alas...it has all returned
to normal...

[Rosie]

Which do you like better - southern Ontario or Eastern? I grew up south of Hamilton, and have lived in Hamilton and Toronto as well as Kingston and area and I much prefer eastern Ontario.

BTW, I notice your sig tag - I went to school with Marty McSorley.

[Tad]

Which do you like better - southern Ontario or Eastern? I grew up south of Hamilton, and have lived in Hamilton and Toronto as well as Kingston and area and I much prefer eastern Ontario.

BTW, I notice your sig tag - I went to school with Marty McSorley.

The line is from the Kathleen Edwards song "You make the Dough, I get the Glory" (catch it on YouTube here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1m69S1dfrak)

There is something about Kathleen Edward’s voice that just strokes my ears, so I’m glad to say she is from Ottawa :)

As for eastern or southern, hard to say. They both have lots of good things about them, so I think it probably comes down to what you like, or maybe what is going on in your life.

I’ve moved to Ottawa three or four times: when I was going into third grade, when I was married for a year, and when my son was in third grade. Also I was back for four work terms of four months each during University, after having been away for a few years.

The first time I hated moving there, but really it was that I hated leaving my old small town in Manitoba. There were not so many kids around my new neighborhood, and my school was uninspiring to say the least. I eventually made new friends and got old enough to escape to downtown for high school, and I came to quite like the city. I also came to appreciate all the outdoors opportunities around the city.

Moving back as a young adult I loved the thriving technology industry, that there were pro sports teams and moderately big concerts in the city, and that there was a great variety of interesting restaurants, and that it had at least half-decent public transit. In short that it was quite cosmopolitan compared to where I’d been. On the other hand we found groceries were more expensive and lower in quality than we were used to, we eventually found the quality but only by paying even higher prices.

The third time I was relieved to be back in our comfy urban neighborhood where it was a short walk to get good bagels or to a farmer’s market, that our son was back in a worthwhile french immersion program, that once again there were useful busses and extensive bike trails.

I moved to Kitchener-Waterloo three times: For university, a couple of years after graduating from university when I’d just gotten engaged, and when my son was going into second grade.

The first time was really all about the university. I did eventually explore the town, and found it pretty uninspiring, but my life was focused around the campus, and that was pretty good times.

The second time is associated with all sorts of good memories, because we’d just gotten engaged and were finally back in the same town, we moved in together, we got married. I enjoyed the town more that that time, in part because it had matured a bit more, in part because I was more interested in little restaurants and stores, in part because I had a car so could get around it better, and probably in part because I was prone to see everything in positive light, with the whole being deeply in young love thing. Also fell in love with the quality and price of meat at the weekly farmers markets.

The third time I did not enjoy it much. The cities had gotten a bit more cosmopolitan, but were still a step back from being in Ottawa, I was not impressed with the school my son was at, and maybe more than anything I really began to feel that there was a harder, more competitive, less empathetic attitude there, that it was more about winning personally and less about building a strong community for everyone.

Now that I’ve written out all of that, I guess based on my experiences I have to say that I prefer Ottawa to K-W, because I think it suits my personality and interests better. But I can totally understand how others could prefer it the other way around.

[MattB]

I've lived in Ottawa for 11 years, and I wouldn't live anywhere else...(Despite the performance of the current city council- what a disaster!!)

Winter is tough for sure, but I've never lived anywhere with a better winter to compare it to.

I still have faith in the Sens, next year can't be worse, can it??

[Tad]

I still have faith in the Sens, next year can't be worse, can it??

Don't say that!

I used to say that for years about the Winnipeg Jets, my first sports love, and look what happened to them :doh: