Walkers

I realize it has been ages since I last updated this thing, and I blame it not only on lazyness but also on lack of things to report on. However I will try to better my ways, and we shall see how well I succeed in that when the time comes for me to update next time.

Anyway.

I am currently sitting by the water, looking at boats go by on the bay, and bicycles and pedestrians pass on the path in front of me (see picture). The white tents you can see in the picture is where Chris works, Bard on the beach. He's done with work in ten minutes and then he'll meet me here, and hopefully we'll go get lunch because I am very hungry. I am thinking sushi. Yum.

About my work. I am, as previously written, working at the UPS store in Denman mall (the mall of death – only 70-80-year-olds inhabit it, so all I see from the store are walkers and canes), about a two minute bike ride from our apartment (if I go really, really fast, and ignore the stop signs, which I tend to do, shh, don't tell anyone). The store is owned by a very nice Iranian couple, who seem to think I aspire to become assistant manager. Well let me tell you something – I sure don't. My job consists of shipping and receiving, copying and faxing, scanning and printing, and vacuuming the floor. Oh! I almost forgot the most important part – putting mail into the rental mail boxes.

It's boring!

I get paid about 10,50 an hour (minus tax), which gives me very little to put in the bank. But as I see it, it is better to do this job that I have for a short time now, than spending more time than I already have on looking for a better one. It seems the competition for jobs here is quite hard – except for the customer service jobs. Who wants to deal with all these irritated Vancouverites all day long...

So in other news: I am aspiring to go back to school this fall, and thus release myself from the evil working life for yet another year. Yes, it is very expensive, but I have decided I want to work with digital media and/or graphic design, and therefore I need to expand my knowledge of the Macintosh computer. It's really funny how people here assume that graphic design can only be done on a Mac. I've had people get really surprised when I've told them I have a PC. Seriously folks, don't buy into the brand hysteria, it is all a hoax.

The program I applied for is this:

http://www.bcit.ca/study/programs/6415smcert

New media design and web development. It's about 10,000 dollars (aaaaaaaah!) but I wanna wanna do it. I applied in the last minute for the program that starts this fall, and if I don't make it, because I was too late and haven't lived here for 12 months and don't have proof that I know English or math, then I will simply keep on working and re-apply for the spring program. I have also looked at other schools, but BCIT seems to offer quite a lot during the year, and also has a very good reputation around here. And unfortunately it seems to matter that I don't go to a community college. Stupid stupid capitalism, I want to study for free.

So Chris is now on his way here, which is awesome, because I am very hungry, and getting very cold. It's not too warm today, but yesterday it was so warm I could barely walk around in the sun. Vancouver is nice though, I like being able to walk ten minutes from my door and be in a rain forest, or go down to the beach and see storks and cranes and swans and raccoons, or breathe clean air, for that matter. This place is so different from Toronto. It's like a big city Esbo. With more stuff. More animals, more trees, and definitely more people. The beaches get PACKED on a warm sunny day, and it's almost impossible to pass people on the sidewalk, cause they don't understand that they are walking slowly.

I went for a jog a couple of days ago, randomly choosing paths in Stanley Park. I think I ran right through the middle of it, via Beaver Lake, up to Prospect Point. I exited the thick forest at one point when I was facing north-west –and the view was so stunning! I could see west Van and Lighthouse Park and the mountains and the island.... And a light fog had risen from the water to give the whole scenery a eerie glow and blur. While running home I saw the most amazing trees and shrubbery, huge snails, woodpeckers, and little birds with white pearls on their wings.... I live in the middle of nature! But somethimes it feels too close, like you can't appreciate it since it is always around you, and almost a little too groomed for my taste.

I will stop now. This is what happens when I don't write for a long time – it gets too long. Chris should be here any minute, so we will finally get our sushi, and then who knows what we'll think of. We might bike somewhere, or go play tennis, or maybe just sit on the couch and play video games. I downloaded Kirby's dreamland on the wii last night – a game that I just played too much as a kid – and it was so much fun to turn it on and see everything again. Funny how nostalgic you can get over games.