Newsflash

Things are looking up - I have a dinner date this evening with a fish. His name is Goldie - wonder what he looks like? At least I hope he's a he...

And now there's entirely too much text on my page - a photo is required. Can I please have submissions for what these boys are looking at?

Five Months & Counting

I've now been 'on the road' for five months. In many ways it feels like a lot longer than that. Vancouver alone feels like 5 months, with S.E. Asia drifting into a far off memory, like all the other places I've been.

There has definitely been some progress with my lifestyle here, I'd like to report. I now look left automatically without reference to the green ←LOOK sign painted on the roads. The antics of resident squirrels only brings a smile rather than an excited intake of breath (Homer giggling churlishly while chasing a squirrel around Springfield University with a stick vaguely comes to mind, particularly while I'm still working out at University of British Columbia). And appropriate measures have been taken to ensure the ongoing safety of all apparel from the super ridiculously industrial strength washing machines here.

But there are still a few things that constantly remind me that Vancouver is not home. My Meetup group plan (or group therapy as I think of it) has been rather infertile grounds for meeting new friends. The only exception was meeting up with one girl, Sarah, who had just arrived from the UK, and once I ruled out any chance of strangeness in excess of my own - we immediately hit it off. It wasn't my typical meet new people thing, I'll admit there were even echoes of 'blind date' when we both agreed that we'd had a great time, and should do it again soon. But it's been nice to have someone to hang out with for no particular reason and reminisce about the golden shores many miles away.

When I first arrived I had my sleeping bag and that was about it. Luckily one of the roomies had sheets that he'd never used as he decided he didn't like the baby blue (why ever not...?) so I didn't need to get all the essentials immediately. I'd planned on doing that once I was off the AUS$ and comfortably living on the CAD$. 3 months in and the sleeping bag still on bed - I've just not wanted to accumulate here, which has its advantages and disadvantages. I love that I am finally getting some wear out of my sleeping bag, but it says alot to me about how I feel about living with the guys, and how I want to keep things simple for a quick get-away as soon as my time here is done.

But September is approaching. The days are starting to get shorter, there's a definite nip in the air, even though all the snow has long since melted from the mountain tops surrounding the city. Winter is on its way. I look forward to the change in seasons with mostly excitement, but a little bit of trepidation, this isn't going to be a nice cosy London winter - its going to be -20/30deg if all goes according to plan. I have no idea how my body will react to these exctremes, but I have a vague idea it won't be pleasant. September also brings a nice little suite of adventures, culminating in the Roadtrip to possibly end all roadtrips through the States in October.

While I don't think I'll ever look at Vancouver as the warmest of travel experiences I have had, or will yet, but things are on the verge of getting a whole lot better for this little Aussie cliche.

Gross exaggeration of 'normal routine'

The problem is how to make an entry about settling into a new place, working and saving money sound more exciting than it actually is, while also warding off subsequent comments along the lines of "Well couldn't you do that at home?". Disclaimer: While the author makes every effort to maintain high levels of jealousy from currently home-bound friends and family, possible side effects resulting in reading the following entry may include sudden onset of sleep; please do not operate heavy machinery whilst reading this blog.

It is rather unfortunate that I have hit the traveling doldrums. I'm treading water while I plan and wait, and wait and plan for the next exciting installment. Obviously you know I got over to Vancouver Island when Coops flew over for a long weekend. We headed off Friday morning (with slight concerns about the reliability of our rental vehicle) and managed to get ourselves lost before we even got to the ferry on Vancouver's north shore; I think we made it with about 3 minutes to spare. Despite the threatening rain and cold winds we found ourselves pretty well stuck to the outside railings of the ferry, peering into the little white caps bobbing through the Strait of Georgia for anything resembling a dorsal fin, but before long we had reached the Nanaimo terminal without so much as even a dubious sighting.

Thankfully the drive from Nanaimo, through the Pacific North Rim National Park to Tofino made up for the lack of whales, and was in fact pretty amazing. We had a few stops by picturesque lakes and a wander through an old growth forest with the most pristine river running through it. Unfortunately the salmon were not yet running, and I know this because you could see the bottom as though there was not actually any water there.

That Saturday morning (after a quick stop to purchase the final installment of Harry Potter) we hit the beach. It wasn't quite sunbathing weather, but the waves were awesome. Tofino gets the storm watchers crowd through winter, and I think we got just a tiny taste of what a pounding the Pacific ocean would give the rugged coastline, dotted with its tiny islands, inlets and outlets through the depths of winter.

Sunday we left Tofino behind and drove towards Campbell River, not anywhere near as scenic as the west coast of the island, however we had an interesting experience at a B&B run by 5 cats, er, I mean a lovely American lady, where I think they may have placed a dead seal on the beach 'out front' just so that we'd get the Bald Eagle show. Driving back on the Monday, we headed down the Sunshine coast from Powell River. It took us all day to catch the 3 ferries required from the Island down the coast, but again, the coastline was an awe-inspiring vision, the only criticism would be the lack of bears...

I had a lovely extended break when I managed to roll rather awkwardly Tuesday morning and hurt my neck - a rather annoying way to begin my new employment with UBC's internal temping pool. I made sure I got a medical certificate as proof because hey, I was suspicious of myself having just had two days holidays! Subsequently the remainder of the week was quiet, the weekend was quiet, and the following week was quiet. I did manage to get to see some dazzling fireworks sent up by Spain, Canada and China. Every year Vancouver hosts the Celebration of Light in which 3 countries are invited to compete in a pyrotechnical display of about 30 minutes, culminating in a 4th and final night's showdown between the 3 countries when the winner is announced. Canada won this year's bout, but my vote was for China - much more impressive, I think they were biased...

Ooh, I did see a skunk - walking home from a friends place Friday night, minding my own business, when what I thought was a short, stumpy cat initially with a very fluffy tale, stopped in the middle of the footpath in front of me. Suddenly realising I was involuntarily involved in a stare down with a skunk, who's nature I was unfamiliar with, I stopped dead, muscles tensed, ready to spring off in any direction should I see a swift turn of its body and raising of tail. My mind was suddenly racing, searching for any reference to removing skunk stink from one's person, and how much of a shame it would be if I had to throw out my only pair of travelling jeans, when the skunk merely strolled off under the nearest bush, with not so much as a flick of the tail. I have since learned that city skunks are common in these here parts, and its not unusual to pass through random stink clouds when they get hit by passing cars etc. Oh, and should the unfortunate need arise, you need to bath in tomato juice. Apparently...

Saturday I was back out at UBC's Thunderbird Stadium to witness one of the most appalling displays of Aussie Rules football I have ever seen, played between Canada and USA. No-one was game to bounce the ball - it just isn't in their blood...but the beer was cold, and so were the pies, so a small slice of Home, really. It was another long weekend, this time under the guise of B.C. Day, but perhaps a more appropriate name could have been 'Just Cause its Summer' Day. I joined Sam, Meg and their 2 girls Ella and Amelia in a trip to Bowen Island, about 20 minutes off North Vancouver mainland. It was a pleasant 2-3hr walk around Killarney Lake, followed by maple and walnut ice cream for the ferry back home. Sorry, 'home'.

This week has been blatantly uneventful. As I mentioned earlier I have been planning my little butt off for new and exciting things, but you'll just have to wait.