Home away from Home

After my experience with the American border guard, and the subsequent flight to Vancouver I wasn't expecting much. Probably more to do with my attitude than to do with what I was arriving to... Amazing. That is the only word that I can use to describe the contrast between the Canadian and American border guards. Now I've heard that Canadians are nice people, and I suppose all the ones I've ever met have been nice, but really, it was amazing. They questioned me, at length, in a similar fashion to the Americans, with I suppose similar questions and yet they managed to not come across as... well... jerks. Lovely begging to my stay in this country! Easy to get my visa issued. Easy to get through the airport. Easy to get my bag. Pleasant taxi drivers.

So having been in town for all of about 40 minutes Sarah and I decided that we would definitely need a bottle of wine. I thought that I wasn't jet lagged. It turned out that I was wrong. Although, while we were making the trek between the bottle-o and our house we were given very stern looks by two local police officers who happened to drive past exactly as we stepped into the road to jay-walk... Ooops. Luckily I managed to avoid being deported on my first day.

Luckily we found some vikings. But that is another part of the story. Anyways, to give you an idea, here it is really interesting when you look for a job. The service and hospitality industries here are amazing in the standard that they require. Looking for work as a bartender was quite daunting as most bars require that you have EXCELLENT cocktail skills. As much as it hurts me to admit that I'm actually not that savvy when it comes to cocktails, I managed to get over it and got hired in a Malaysian restaurant as a bartender. Amusing first night. The place's website is here http://bananaleaf-vancouver.com/ . It was fun and the people there were really nice, but I was wanting a day job cause I don't like working opposite hours to Sarah... It sucked. But it was only a couple of days anyways!

Now I am a "filing clerk" translation: general office bitch. It's good though. I'm working in the south of the city, just near a place called Richmond actually, but it's a nice mix of people. I am possibly one of the younger people there.

But everyone seems really nice and while I'm doing my filing every now and then I get to go and make a coffee and generally chat to people. Like I said, they are all really nice, so it's going to be a good place to work. Sadly I don't think it's going to be a place to work like the Doot, but it's still going to be a bit of fun. I take two buses to work and I still get there in around 20 minutes and I get to wear my jeans to work so it's a pretty good little deal. Can't wait for a paycheck though! CRIKEY!

Sarah and I decided that it was time to do some walking around and seeing stuff today instead of just gathering dust on the sofa. By the way, our apartment is really sweet, but that's another story. So we left home around midday, which was just after we woke up and headed around to a place called Granville Island. This place is famous for it's local brewery (Surprise Surprise that we ended up there), it's not a big brewery and I am led to believe that they only service Vancouver, but I'm not sure. Either way, we are planning a return visit for next weekend. I suspect we will be tasting some beer then as well.... But who can tell these days?

Well, I guess this is getting a bit long, especially for those of you that are sneaking internet time at work and stealing from the company... But briefly, this place is amazing. When we walk out the front door (as long as it's clear) we can see snow capped mountains, and the ski runs on them. The people here so far (touch wood) have been absolutely lovely. Even the beggars here seem to be nice. Not that I have spent

Home away from Home

Vancouver, Canada