A bad date, a busy day, and a lot of begging.

Okay, by popular request, here's the story of the bad date. I should clarify that neither of us actually called it a date, but I think that's what it was meant to be. I met this Indian guy, who has lived in Canada for 12 years, at a social function for people new to the city. We were chatting away and he asked what things I'd seen in Vancouver so I told him and we discussed how there was lots more I still need to see and do. He asked "What are you doing this weekend? I'll show you around the city!". And I thought, okay, that might be fun to spend a day sight-seeing and making a new friend. We agreed on Saturday so I kept it free and he rang at 11:30 am Sat and suggested meeting at 4, and said he'd call between 3 and 4 to arrange where to meet. So I was ready to go from about 3:30 but he didn't call till 4:30 and he was still at home and he said he'd be at mine in half an hour. He arrived at 5:45 and I wasn't thrilled about this but I realise not everyone is as punctual as I am, so I tried to relax and not be annoyed! He asked me "So what do you want to do?" and I'm thinking 'I thought you were going to play tour guide!'. He wanted to show me a lagoon in Stanley Park but his sense of direction was hopeless and in the end I steered us toward it from memory from glancing at a map. The weather was cold and drizzly and the raccoon he wanted to show me was not there. So we got on a bus then the SkyTrain to go to Science World. We get there and its closed (it's about 7pm by now). So his next idea is to catch a ferry to North Vancouver. On the ferry he asks me questions like "Does New Zealand have trains?", "Does everyone have a pet sheep when they're growing up?", "Do you guys eat lamb for dinner like every night?", and tells me when I don't pronounce words "correctly". We catch the ferry across to North Van and everything's closed and it's cold and miserable so we come right back on the next ferry. Earlier he had offered to make a bbq dinner but after we get off the ferry we're both really hungry and he can't be bothered cooking any more so we decide to have some Thai in town, which I locate for us. After dinner, which was yummy but so spicy my nose was running and my eyes were watering (which would normally be embarassing on a first date, but by this stage I don't really care what he thinks), he asked what I wanted to do next and I'd had enough so I said "Look, I'm tired and I'm going home". So we said goodbye and that was that. I think that was one LAME guided tour!!! Oh and I paid for my own dinner, which I didn't mind, but I also paid for 3 transit tickets while he used his monthly pass. The day was such a write-off that I bought some chocolate biscuits on my way home and they turned out to be the best part of the day. My first foray back into the dating scene in a while and certainly hasn't made me excited about it!

Anyway, on to other things! Today was a really busy day at work! People were piling things on me - copy this, fax that, courier this to Switzerland URGENTLY, file that, transfer calls, order a special kind of stationery thingamyjig that no one know the name for, and somehow always know where everyone is even though no one ever tells me when they're going somewhere! I only managed to squeeze in 15 mins for lunch even though I'm meant to take an hour. It's good to be busy but it really cut into my net-surfing time, ha ha!

I was thinking today, as I have on many other days but I don't think I've commented on it here yet, that it is noticeable how many crazy people there are in this city. Some of them are high on drugs or drunk or who knows what, but you can pretty much guarantee that you'll come across at least one person a day who is ranting and raving in the middle of a busy street. The other day I was waiting to cross the road around midday and this guy was so angry and yelling at a passerby, "F*** you! I'll kill you! You'll kill me! Then we'll all be f***ing DEAD!!!!" (I'm not quite sure the logic follows in that tirade but I think you'll get the point). Sometimes someone who looks quite normal and well-dressed will be walking along the street then they'll start yelling at no-one in particular about random stuff. I think those ones are on a particular type of drug but I don't know what. There are people begging at almost every intersection in the downtown area, while smartly dressed business people go about their day. People go through rubbish bins all the time. People sleeping in doorways is a common sight. I was about to cross at West Georgia and Burrard (a busy intersection) on my way home from work on Monday and had to pass a guy urinating right there on the sidewalk in full view of commuters. It's all just part of life here in Vancouver.

I found out on Monday that I didn't get that job I was waiting to hear about, the one where I thought the interview had gone really well. No explanation was given and I didn't have the heart to ask. I've applied for one more permanent role this week that sounds interesting, but if I don't get that one, I'm going to have to come up with a new strategy because I can't face months of temping. My brain cells are dying from lack of use. I have to remind myself that I didn't come here for the money, I came for the experience. But temp wages reduce the range of the experiences I can have. My friend in Ottawa doesn't think being on a work visa is a big issue there as it seems that all the travellers come to Vancouver looking for work. So maybe I'll look at moving elsewhere, or heading home a bit earlier than planned. There are a lot of things I miss about Wellington but I also know that I haven't been here long enough to have established equivalent 'favourite' things and places here yet.

I missed the All Blacks game against South Africa on the weekend, but I definitely plan to watch the Bledisloe Cup this weekend!