Adventures on Public Transport

Still no news to report regarding job or housing! I've been looking for short-term sublets but there doesn't seem to be a huge selection out there, plus my timing's not the best as now is when all the uni students are returning to the city at the end of the summer. Some of the advertisements are crazy - so many people rent out their lounge or den/cupboard for $400 - $500/month! I saw a trailer advertised to share today for $400! Some of the places I've contacted have mentioned they've been inundated with responses as soon as they advertise, and I have seen a couple of ads where the advertiser has obviously had a strong response, so they've upped their asking price by a couple of hundred and re-advertised! Greedy!

Fortunately for me, while I was out apartment-hunting last Saturday, I overheard several street people talking about good places to get 25c coffee and which bridges to sleep under. So I know the good places to go. Actually I'm not too worried because if I don't find something before Sept 1st, I can crash at the Aussies' place (4 Aussie girls and one guy) in Kerrisdale. It's a lot further out to get to work but it's good to know I've got options. These 4 Aussie girls have all become good friends and are a lot of fun to hang out with. Tomorrow we're all catching a bus to Whistler to check it out. We've booked a loft suite in the town centre for Saturday night, complete with hot tub and sauna! The cost works out as quite reasonable when we split it 5 ways. It'll be a bit of a treat for us, as we're all in the same boat of temping for low wages and not being able to afford to take time off over the summer. We're getting pretty creative at finding ways to go out and have fun on a budget!

I figured out why they built the SkyTrain! It's not just to provide rapid transit, it's to allow people to skip over the dodgy, scary parts of town, without having to pass through them! I made the mistake of catching a bus through the East Hastings area (instead of using the SkyTrain to bypass it) while on my way to view an apartment, and I had the oddest experience. It was a longish bus trip and gradually the more normal passengers got off and were replaced by louder, smellier, crazier passengers. It started with one woman who got on downtown and started singing "Where have all the flowers gone?" over and over and very loudly. She also barked orders at other passengers, like "Sit down sir! Sit down! You're too old, you'll fall over!". Then more scruffy street people starting joining her and conversing together, so that there were about 6 of them yelling at each other, things like asking each other if they'd taken their meds, which places they could get free food, where they've been sleeping recently. I think I'm fairly broad-minded, and I don't like using labels like smelly or crazy, but I think anyone who came with me would have found it difficult to describe them otherwise. I'm getting used to people who rant and rave and sound like they've got Tourette's, sitting next to me on buses. Sometimes you'll come across two next to each other and from a distance you might think they're having an argument, but when you get closer you realise they're off on their own rants, not interacting at all.

Later that afternoon, walking back home through downtown in broad daylight, I saw two pretty women on a street corner, crouching down and obviously getting ready for something, as they were doing their hair and makeup. As I got closer I realised they must have been street workers, and I was amazed at their stash of makeup! They'd spread it all out on a jumper on the sidewalk and they had a huge collection of pots and tubes and creams etc.

I'm not even going to tell the stories of the horrible apartments I looked at and strange people living in them. Suffice to say that by the end of the day, when friends on the other side of the city invited me out, I turned them down because I'd had enough of public transport and weird people for one day. Me being perfectly "normal", of course ;)

On to more fun adventures, two weekends ago I visited Bowen Island with two of the Aussie girls. After a very late start because one of the girls was hungover and slept in, we caught a bus for an hour to the ferry terminal at Horseshoe Bay, then it was a quick 20-min ferry ride across to the cute little island. It was similar to taking the Interislander to Picton in New Zealand, but on a smaller scale, and with different trees - see photos below:

Leaving Horsehoe Bay.

Another ferry arriving.

Time for a caffeine fix on the ferry.

Arriving at Snug Cove, Bowen Island. It was a beautiful afternoon for our outing!

People enjoying Snug Cove.

This is Matilda at the lookout at the top of a short hike from Snug Cove.

Will know more about work and accommodation next week. Despite not knowing about work yet, I've pretty much decided to stay in Vancouver. I'd still like to take a trip east though - I'll ask for a week or two off at some stage if I commit to staying in my current role till I leave. I've got to make the most of being over here, and see some more of the country!

Goldilocks and Three Bears and Eight Dogs?

I think I'm overdue for an update on here! It's interesting to note that due to strikes by council staff, the summer pool pictured in my last post is currently closed. Around the city, trash is piling up, libraries are closed, and summer pools are unused while the city workers' union reps argue with the council about wage increases.

After all that excitement about the dog walking, nothing has actually come of it. Niki set up two appointments with me and double-booked herself both times, cancelling at the last minute without apologising. And it's now been two or three weeks since I last heard anything from her. So I'm thinking she's probably not a very good boss to have anyway, if she's that disorganised! Mum is very happy to hear I won't be taking dogs hiking in bear country, as she thought they might mistake Goldilocks and her dogs for a tasty treat.

In the meantime, I've been considering moving cross-country to Ottawa where I have some friends to visit, Paul and Caroline. I'd like to see more of the country and I'm not particularly attached to Vancouver. I've enjoyed spending some time here and visiting some of the city's highlights, but I'm also finding temp wages very restrictive in that I have so little spare cash after paying bills, that I can't really afford to take short trips away or go out much. Plus things have turned sour with my roommate and we had a bit of a disagreement about cleaning (I'd like more of it!). It didn't make much sense to come all this way to have an unhappy living situation and work for peanuts. So I've decided to move on from my apartment, and I will decide in the next couple of weeks whether to stay in Vancouver or head east.

On a positive note, things are going really well at my current (continued) temp placement. I'm getting on really well with everybody now they've slowly warmed up to the girl on the front desk with the funny accent, and several of them have mentioned that they hope the personnel manager (who is currently on vacation) will ask me to stay on long term. I've had some really nice feedback that I've made a big difference to the place, and I've been flat out with a whole assortment of different tasks they've been giving me. That first week when I was so bored I was falling asleep seems like a distant memory now! Amongst other things, I'm occasionally writing, signing and sending correspondence on behalf of senior managers; setting up HR systems; and processing important (6-digit) financial transactions. I think I'm in a fairly good position to negotiate for a higher wage - if they'll maybe consider taking me on for a short-term contract until I head home in mid December. If not, I've discovered my temp agency has an office in Ottawa - so why not move there for my last few months and then I'll be able to visit places like Montreal and Quebec city more easily. I'll decide in the next 2-3 weeks!

What else is news? I made it to Vancouver Island on the weekend, where I caught up with Aaron and his cycling association friends in Victoria. They were having their AGM and then attending the BMX World Champs, which were held in Victoria. I was very fortunate to be able to stay in Victoria free by tagging along as Aaron's guest! (Thanks mate!) I left work early last Thursday, caught a ferry across and spent Friday looking around the inner harbour and downtown.


Totem poles at Thunderbird Park.




Looking across the Strait of Juan de Fuca from Holland Point.


Breakwater at Ogden Point where I stopped for my morning caffeine fix.


The Inner Harbour with the Parliament Buildings in the background.


The Empress where you can take have a traditional English high tea... if you book a space several months in advance!


The entrance to the Parliament Buildings. I took the free tour.


Looking up towards the central dome.


Captain George Vancouver and some of his mates (can't remember the details!).


Pretty flowers. Looking back towards the Inner Harbour.


Shoal Point apartment complex - Canada's most awarded building apparently!


House boats at Fisherman's Wharf - very cute.


This one was for sale for CAD$325,000.



Entry to Victoria's Chinatown.

Saturday we spent all day watching the BMX heats, semis and finals (in the HOT sun!), and I was very happy to see New Zealand's Sarah Walker take a silver medal in the Elite Women's event! It was fun watching the BMX races as they're short, fast and action-packed! Good entertainment.




Good to see some support for the Kiwis!




Aaron and I in the stands. Not sure why I'm sticking my tongue out??


My new business?

Sunday Aaron and I found a great little place for brunch and then wandered around Chinatown and downtown a bit more. Then it was time to catch a bus back to the ferry terminal. I was blissfully unaware that on Saturday most ferry sailings were cancelled due to a bomb threat, and thousands were stranded, unable to make the crossing! But it was all back to normal by the time I caught an afternoon sailing on Sunday.

Vancouver is currently hosting a series of fireworks displays, called the Celebration of Light. Over 4 nights spread over 2 weeks, 3 countries (Spain, China and Canada) compete to be voted the best display, and hundreds of thousands of people flock to the waterfront to picnic and watch the fireworks. Last night I went down to English Bay with Sam (a friend borrowed from my best friend Mary) and we enjoyed beer and chocolate ice cream while watching the Chinese entry. The music they chose for their display was kind of odd - classical didn't seem to quite fit? It was really amazing to notice how quiet all the thousands of people were while staring into the sky with child-like awe at the spectacle.


Here you can see some of the people setting up to watch the fireworks at English Bay, hours before it got dark!


Mmmmm chocolate ice cream!