Just a quick update

So apparently a week has passed since I last wrote something to this blog.. Oops. Time flies when you're doing nothing. But there is news: there was a party last Saturday for the wrap-up of the show Chris was working on, so now he's not working on it anymore, he's home, hooray.

Also, I have a job coming up this weekend - nothing much, just some promo work at the Vancouver Marathon, but it equals some money - and I also have a project I will most likely be doing during the summer, but I will talk more about that after I meet up with the woman who is organizing it tomorrow.

Sorry folks, that is all for now, for it is late and I have to get up at (gasp!) 8.30 tomorrow!

Runners runners everywhere

I am in the process of reading the awesome informational booklet "RoadSense for Drivers". I don't know why they insist on calling it RoadSense. I feel like it should come with a little tm-sign hovering above it. I'll probably be ready for the theoretical exam tomorrow or Thursday, and then we'll see how long it takes for me to be able to get a driving test. Whoopee.

So today I bought a bike. I was getting tired of walking downtown, when it is so much faster to wheel it. Thanks, cavemen, for inventing the wheel. I got myself a used mountain bike with way too big tires for biking on pavement. It's blue. It's also quite heavy. But I keep positive and appreciate its weight, as it will only provide more resistance and thus exercise..

I also might just sell it again and get another one soon.

And let's not forget a recap of last Sunday! It was the day of the Sun Run, a 10 km long run downtown, which drew a record number of runners - almost 60,000! I woke up and looked out the window, and there they were, passing by in large, large numbers. It was pretty silly. Here are some pictures:

Sunday was also the 20th of April, aka 420-day. Oh so stupid. For those of you that don't know, 420 is a nickname for weed, and so the potheads gather together on 420-day to light their joints at 4.20. Or probably right when they wake up. We passed by their little festival outside the art gallery downtown... It was pretty silly, what with all the cops just hanging around watching the whole thing. It looks quite serene in this picture, but we didn't get there til around 7, so they were pretty stoned by then:

On Sunday night, Chris and I went to see his friends do a stand-up show on Broadway and Ontario. It was hilarious, they were really good. I finish off this post with a picture of that, and will return with more information about my upcoming driving tests as soon as anything of interest happens !

Snain!

The weather is freaky! It is raining and snowing at the same time. Snaining. Rowing. Uhm. The picture is taken from the living room window.















I've had a productive day today. For once. It took me a while to get it started, but as the clock struck 11, I was on my way to buy an alarm clock with big glowing numbers that I can place in the living room and still see from the bedroom. Success. I also purchased a pillow to make four instead of the oh so odd and sad number of three, which was what we previously had.

After this excursion I got on the bus downtown to get myself a booklet to prepare for the damn theoretical exam and the upcoming driving lesson I have to take to make them believe I can drive over here. Apparently, if I was Canadian, American, Austrian, German, Swiss, Japanese or South Korean, they'd just take my current license and hand me one that works here, but as a Finn, I have to go through the crushing wheels of bureaucracy.

I got my booklet and the information I needed about getting a car for the test (the driving schools rent them out for an hourly rate), and I proceeded on my journey of productivity, to get myself a bank account.

Getting the bank account set up was easy enough. I won't be able to access my funds in a week though, until they know they are ok, and I don't know if they'll give me a credit card either, since I don't have any kind of credit history here. This whole system is so different from what I am used to, and I feel slightly confused at times, but luckily all the answers to all my questions are given to me by my buddy Google.

And then I got home, ate, took two classes at Denman gym, did the dishes, ate, watched Reaper.... And now Chris is on his way here. Yay! I should go meet him but my computer is warning me that there is a thunderstorm out there.

Jobs and music

So this morning (11.30 is still morning right?) I was on my way to a job fair at Jericho Sailing Club or something like that down on Discovery street in Kitsilano. Well, I took three or four buses and after much looking around and wondering where the hell I am actually made my way down to Discovery, looked around, walked up and down the street, but found no sailing club. It was all completely residential. So then I just gave up and took a scenic walk to a bus down by Jericho beach. It wasn't at all a wasted trip, because I got to see parts of the city I've never been to before, and Point Grey is a beautiful area. The sky way grey and looked threatening all day, but it didn't rain. The first picture here is from W 8th around Point Grey, and there is just nothing there. Notice the nice parking job done by the white van. I had to walk on the grass. :)

While I was sitting on a log on Jericho beach (picture), my phone rang. I thought it might be Chris, but instead it was one of the places I've applied to phoning me back to tell me more about the job. I won't go into details about it because I'm far from getting it, but it was nice to finally hear back from someone and know that my resume is actually being received.

Last night I met up with two girls to go to a concert at Richard's on Richards, and that was a lot of fun. We saw The Beautiful Girls and the photo is of the opening act, a guy whose name I cannot recall. He played guitar, didgeridoo, drums and sang at the same time. It was weird. At one point I remembered I had been to the venue before, back in 2003, to see Hot Water Music and the Bouncing Souls... Not realizing the greatness of the bands until years later.

I started getting tired around 10.30 though which was strange since I had slept for nearly 11 hours the night before, but I guess I might still be slightly jetlagged. Anyway it was great meeting up with some fun people here and with maybe getting the job and all, it seems almost like I am starting to live here a bit. It still kinda feels like a vacation, or something other than a big move, because I've done the temporary moving so many times before... I am currently looking into getting a B.C. driver's license, because I do have time right now, and my current one will only be legal here for three months.

Another thing I really need to look into soon is how to get my name changed legally. I have to send a bunch of documents to the Finnish consulate or whatever it is called, and I just hate the paperwork. I was hoping to have everything finished off and settled when I got here, but there is still so many little details that need to be worked out, and I am feeling lazy.

Now I might go buy a humidifier and watch America's Next Top Model season waaay after the one that just aired in Finland.

Rock on!

I just got back from a 6 hour walk so I am pretty dead, but I realized I hadn't written anything in a while so I'd better give you an update... The first picture is from Main street, where I was waiting for a bus to take me home on Saturday (yes it is slightly edited cause I was bored okay), the second is a really horrible picture of me taken at English Bay park right downhill from our apartment on Sunday night. But my blog needed the pictures so even horrible ones do.

The weekend was great, sunny and warm, and I went to some friends' houses on Saturday night before Chris got off work. Then we spent Sunday walking around in Kits and playing Rockband... Yes, we succumbed. But it sure is a lot of fun. We also bought speakers so I can listen to my music again. Awesome.

Today, as I said, I walked a lot. I walked down to Kits again to meet up with a girl I contacted on craigslist, we walked around for 3 hours, and then I walked back home again. Now my feet hurt and my cheeks are radiating heat so I think I might have gotten some sun. I also ate an awesome burrito bowl at burrito broz. So you know. And then I picked up an "employment paper". Makes me feel so unemployed. Although I'm not.

Still nothing to do

I am tired. Today I have returned home from North Van, returned shitty speakers to Futureshop, and bought more stuff for the apartment. I have to stop buying stuff, or get a job. I applied for one last night so I hope they give it to me.

I hung out with Derek a couple of hours yesterday, and he drove me around the south side and then we hung out with his brothers. It was fun. I then ate a huge 7 dollar burrito and was very full. Right now I am thinking of trying out the jogging in Stanley Park, but I am afraid my body won't like that idea. Oh what the heck, I'm doing it anyway. It's sunny for a change, so I'd better get out there before the next shower hits the city...

Wednesday, I ran out of things to do

It is really interesting for me to check out the hit counter for this page. 15 people have actually read this? Or maybe it's five people coming back three times each, but still, the feeling that I am writing this out into oblivion has disappeared.

I am starting to feel like I need a job. Food is expensive and time gets boring. But I don't know what to do, since I can't really get a "real" full-time job what with the two weeks of holiday I will need in July-August (for going back home). I saw they were seeking help at the liquor store just down the street... Hmm... Discounted beer....

There is no water in our building right now. I have filled a few containers with water to drink, but if they don't turn it on within a few hours I will be forced to evacuate the premises and go buy a water bottle. Oh wait, I have a litre of milk in the refrigerator. I decided to buy it for the sole purpose of testing the difference between Ontario and B.C. dairy - because there is one. The milk in Toronto tasted more like cardboard, this milk tastes more like milk, but sweet, almost like those little milks you get with your take-out coffee.

I have no idea what to do today.

I'm loving it

So the end of my third whole day is nigh, and so far I am feeling good. The only thing bad about this is that I don't get to see Chris very much. But that is temporary. He is coming over tomorrow though, hurray!

Yesterday I got myself a Canadian social insurance number, and then just mostly hung out, walked around, and read a book. I went to see Chris after work, at around ten pm... And today I bought a ps2 and played that for a few hours, and then walked around downtown for four hours or so. They are cutting off the water in the apartment building tomorrow, so I guess I have to go out and wander around again.. Or just stay dehydrated.

Vancouver is absolutely wonderfully beautiful! It rained this morning but when I went for my walk around five the sun was shining and people were out enjoying themselves. This is so different from Toronto, where you were pretty much forced to enjoy concrete and look at seagulls. In Vancouver you can watch the streams, the trees, the crazy-looking birds (I think I saw a blue jay today), the ocean, the mountains... You name it - and I've only kept myself downtown so far! And people are just sooo friendly. Seriously. This is the friendliest city I've been to so far. People keep out of your way on the sidewalks, they keep doors open, they smile and say hello, and they tell me they love my hair. Haha. The last one was done by a Unicef-girl on the street. But she made me smile.

When I had a day off in Toronto, I was restless and didn't really want to go out because there was nothing going on, nothing to do, nothing to see. This is so different. The city is so alive - which is strange - since Toronto is bigger and people would say that there are more places to go - but just walking downtown here gives you so much to look at and so many options regarding where to eat, what to do, where to shop... Everything is so close. Even to our apartment. We live by Denman, which is a pretty lively street and leads right down to English Bay Park and Sunset Beach - both of them just simply breathtaking. I have attached two pictures of that area to this post, but they do it no justice.

I am surprised to not be more in awe of this place than I am - because I remember how I felt when I got here last December. I think the difference lies in the fact that I have now spent a lot of time in Finland, which is quite like B.C. (hmm, sure), and I was coming straight from concrete city in December. The transition is smoother this time.

Tomorrow I should open a bank account. And perhaps maybe look for a job.

The beginning

I am sitting in the new apartment on Haro street, in downtown Vancouver. The location is amazing, the apartment is great, the city is beautiful.

I wrote the beginning of the blog on the plane over the Atlantic, so here it is, and I will continue below:

So I am sitting in the plane over Greenland at the moment, but the Green land cannot be seen due to thick, thick clouds beneath me. I did see Scotland though, and that looked pretty icey and mountainous, not at all the green rolling hills I had expected. I have so far watched two movies, Enchanted and Juno, and am probably going to watch a third, seeing that I have about 20 to choose from on my own little private screen.

So far the trip's gone well, not taking into account the fact that three men stopped the baggage check-in line for about 15 minutes this morning (I made the flight so no worries), a passenger fainted on my first leg to Frankfurt (which was late, and the passenger was fine), and that an old grey man had occupied my seat when I got to the place I had specifically hand picked out for myself while checking in online yesterday. I wanted to sit by the aisle and be able to get up and walk whenever I wanted, but now I'm stuck by the window cause next to me sits another old, Russian or something, man whose knee hurts so he needs to keep his leg stretched out into the aisle the whole time. Oh well, that's being young I suppose, you have to make sacrifices so that you can say you have the right to sit wherever you want when you grow ancient.

So yeah, my other flight was late as well, and so I spent about half an hour sitting around in the waiting area watching the stuff-movers move stuff into the plane. They still say we should be in Vancouver on time, so all's well. This plane is by the way by far the coolest one I've been in – the personal touch-screens are great, but there is also a whole separate downstairs area with five toilets. Downstairs! In a plane! I find it pretty fun. So I've ran down there twice just to stretch my legs and try to figure out where all the stuff is that I saw them stuff into the plane.

I don't know if I have to fill out the declaration of goods-thing they always give you when you fly to Canada, seeing that I don't know whether to write in the "Visitor" or "Resident"-sector. I figure resident, but then they want to know how long I've been gone for, which would mean when I, as a resident, left Canada. And that sure doesn't apply. I figure I don't need the paper, but I'd better not throw it out, just in case.

So yeah, I have about five more hours of flying ahead of me, I feel fine, although they are not giving us enough to eat. I had a small portion veggie pasta, but that was hours ago already. I also really want to walk around the plane, but I can't keep asking the old Russian man to get up. He by the way only has a crossword-puzzle magazine for entertainment, poor fellow. He keeps glancing at my computer like it's some weird kind of fancy machinery that only really fortunate people own.

Well, now my arm is starting to really hurt, it is not easy to write in this small space, I tell you for sure. Maybe I will read one of the two books I bought at the airports, although they don't seem too interesting. Shit, now my knee is hurting too.

The landing, which is what they call immigrating, went well and without pain, but the line to get to the immigration officers was long and it took about an hour and a half for me to get into the country. Teresa and Ron were kind enough to come and pick me up from the airport, so the trip downtown went very smoothly. Once here I dropped off my suitcases and went out to buy food.

I went to sleep around 8.30 pm, after 24 hours awake, and awaited Chris' arrival. Around an hour later the buzzer sounded and there he was. I can't describe the feeling of seeing him again after two and a half months - let's just say I wasn't completely certain of whether or not I was awake.

We spent all Sunday, his only day off all week, together, walking around Vancouver, getting some stuff for the apartment, enjoying the rain... Yes, the rain! It rains a lot here. I knew it would, but it's always different to actually experience this climate than just hearing about it, because it's never really rained before when I've been here.

Tonight I slept around 10 hours or so, waking every two or three hours. There is an orchestra of birds outside our bedroom window. Earplugs are needed. I got up at 6, had breakfast, and went back to bed for two more hours. I have been feeling oddly jetlagged ever since arriving - and people claim it's easier to go west. After waking today I went out and was efficient. I got myself a Canadian social insurance number, and bought more stuff for the apartment. Then I came home and cleaned up the place, and put away all my clothes in hidden compartments along the walls. The place is pretty big for only being 400 square feet - it feels waaay bigger than our 500 sq f place in Toronto, but I do think I have now utilized every single place available for stowing clothes.