This is not a walk in the park!

So I went hiking today. Up the Squamish Chief, which is about 1.5 hours drive out of Vancouver. This was no walking track, it was more like rock climbing! Uphill for 1.5 hours, sometimes on all fours, sometimes up ladders, and there were even a couple of chains to help get up rock faces. Lani was amazing, she did the whole thing with 6-month old Maya on her back! The views from the top where we stopped for lunch made it all worthwhile. Then it was back down. Needless to say, my legs are a wee bit tired now!


The Shannon Falls, near the start of the hike.


Lani and Maya, who fell asleep on the descent!


"This trail is NOT a walk in the park" - they were not joking!!


One of the ladders on the trail.


Part of the view from the top.


Me with my new friend - she was so good on the hike!!

Continuing with the exercise theme... I've noticed an interesting trend over here: exercise gear as street wear. Or, more specifically, yoga gear. These women walk around in tight black yoga pants and there is no way they can all be coming from or going to yoga classes. They shop in them, lunch in them, go to the movies in them! Some can get away with it but others probably shouldn't - TMI. I commented on it to someone and they said "yeah, it's a B.C. thing" - apparently British Columbians have a reputation for being super sporty. And the 'yoga gear as street wear' trend seems to be tied to the rapidly increasing popularity of the chain lululemon athletica who specialise in yoga gear. You're not cool if you're not wearing their yoga pants and hoodie. Cut-off track pants are popular too. But you don't do it yourself, you pay lots of $ for designer "cropped" trackies.

Another thing I've noticed is that it seems much more acceptable to strike up conversation with strangers here. I've observed it several times while "oot and aboot". And on Sunday as I was walking back from the grocery store and brooding on my joblessness a man coming the other way said "You're carrying two bags of food! You should look much happier!", then he gave me a big grin and said "Have a great day!" before continuing on. I had to smile.

Speaking of jobs... I have an interview tomorrow! I was beginning to think I had 'resume leprosy' or something, but apparently not. It doesn't sound very exciting, mainly data entry, but hey, it's an interview! The woman called while I was standing near the waterfall this morning and I couldn't hear much of what she said, and I didn't have pen or paper, so she said she'd email me. She called back a few hours later as she wanted to arrange an interview tomorrow morning, and again I was by the waterfall on my way back down, and still couldn't hear much! But I got home and there was an email with the details. It's actually a temp agency I have to see, and I'll need to do all their tests (typing etc), which will be a first for me.

Fingers crossed! (not during the typing test though)

P.S. I've changed the settings so now you can add a comment without having to register with the site first.