Notes from BC

On Saturday we decided to head east (away from the crowds and popular tourist places) and visit Belcarra Regional Park. The park is a 25 minute drive in the car away from our home and it is in the Port Moody area although Belcarra is a village itself. It is located on the entrance to Indian Arm (a steep sided glacial fjord) on the eastern part of the Burrard Inlet. The weather was fantastic, according to my iPhone it was 14ºc which is quite unbelievable for February!  We packed a picnic and our camera and enjoyed the afternoon taking many photos and enjoying the relaxing atmosphere, it definitely turned out to be a better choice than getting caught up in the crowds in Downtown Vancouver. 

The last week has really flown by for me, the fast paced events of the Olympics seem to have spread over to my own life somehow. So far getting in and out of work has been ok but last night was a bit of a squeeze and I could barely move my arms beside me. The SkyTrain overall has been way busier than normal but fortunately I haven't been in any major delays so far and I think that the transit operators have done a decent job of keeping things moving (it's a good job too because my employers never bothered coming up with a proper contingency plan!).

I've literally been heading straight to the station at 3:30pm each day and haven't been waiting around at all. I've heard reports of some people who've left later in the day and experienced waits of up to 2 hours so that's put me off hanging about after work. You can't really blame transit for those delays in the evening though, there's literally just too many people around. On the local news during the week many people (who have lived here their whole lives) said they have never known the city to have so many people on it's streets.

Last Saturday we were invited over to our friends house in Coquitlam for belated birthday celebrations. We had a great night enjoyed with good company. We also met some new people there who were friendly and also very funny! There were about 6 Brits there including us and it was interesting to hear about other people's experiences here. We managed to get home before 1am and then had a nice lie in on Sunday morning, thankfully I woke up without a hangover!

On Tuesday Canada played their first game (hockey) of the Olympics against Norway. I watched it at home on TV and really enjoyed the game, it finished 8-0 so I got to see plenty of goals! On Wednesday Lou and I went out for a meal at an Earls restaurant in Burnaby, we were celebrating because it was 7 years to the day since we first met (and from which we've been inseparable since). We had a few drinks after our meal but we had gone out quite early so we weren't home too late (it was a "school night" after all!). On Thursday Canada played their second hockey game of the Olympics this time against Switzerland. Again I watched it at home with Lou but this time it was a bit closer than before, we won 3-2 on penalties after the game had been tied at 2-2. It was a really exciting game and even though there were less goals it was actually a bit more entertaining than the Norway game. I'm looking forward to this Sundays game against the USA. I think it's one of the most anticipated games of the tournament for everybody, it's the Yanks after all! I'd really love to go to a game but the tickets were sold for the events over 18 months ago and I've heard the street prices for some of the games range from anything from $400 to $3000!

One thing I read which annoyed me this week was the negative media coverage the British press have been giving the Olympics. Of course there have been some hiccups but overall everything has gone reasonably well. I guess I shouldn't have been too surprised by them focusing on the bad points rather than the good, but it was disappointing nonetheless. If the games have been that bad then the press from other countries would be slating it too, but they haven't so surely that says it all really. Take it from me, the games have been really good and exciting and yes we may be the warmest city to ever host the games but there's still enough snow (just) on the mountains! Also, isn't it best to be able to enjoy the rest of the city in nice 12 degree weather as opposed to the freezing cold? I'm sure the tourists here who are enjoying it will say "Yes"!

Ever since we moved to Vancouver we've heard nothing but news stories about the Olympics but today is the first time I've been genuinely excited about it and I'm now officially on the bandwagon! My morning started with a much busier ride into work. The SkyTrain was twice as busy than usual and I had to stand with mere centimetres between me and the people around me. After arriving at Waterfront station (and receiving my complimentary newspaper) I was actually surprised when I got outside to see that the streets were still quiet (but it was only 6:55am I guess)!

I got to work at 7am as usual and worked for the first hour and half. Then we found out for certain (I'd brought my camera along in case) that the Olympic torch was passing right by our office so me and my mate (with the bosses approval of course) went outside to join in the excitement for an hour. None of our colleagues really worked either and most of them used the excellent location of the office to their advantage by opening the windows and sitting on the ledge with their legs dangling out (you don't seem to get the over protective health and safety stuff out here like in the UK haha)!

The atmosphere was great and everyone on the road seemed to get their own chance to be a 'celebrity'. Everyone who drove past the crowds were honking their horns and getting cheers, the best reception going to the garbage truck and it's driver who honked his horn wildly and lapped up every bit of attention that was going! I had a really good view of the torch when they eventually came around and I got some good photos which you can check out below. My friend also used my iPhone to take a video of it which I have posted at the bottom of this post.

I felt in a really good mood once it was time to get back to work and the whole event seemed to lift everyone's spirits. At 3:30pm as soon as it was time to finish work I got my march on and headed straight to the station skipping the usual 'Friday beer-time' in the office so I could avoid the chaos. Luckily it worked and although the station was very busy I managed to get on a train within minutes and get a seat too, let's hope this becomes a trend.

After months and months of talk, speculation and predictions the games are finally here. It's so nice to see Vancouver buzzing with even more energy than usual and it's great seeing so many smiles on peoples faces. I'm looking forward to the whole experience, one thing is for sure - it's going to be unique!

               

Well it's been a week since my last blog update so I thought it was about time I sat down and wrote about what's been going on for Lou and I over in the 'Olympic City'! 

On Friday night Lou and I began our weekend together by heading into the city for some drinks with a few of our friends. We headed to The Kingston which is located close to the Vancouver Public Library and not far away from Granville Station. We had a bite to eat and plenty of drinks and it was a really good night, however after being awake since 5:30am I was done by midnight and could last no longer than 1am. I had to put an end to the partying (at least for me and Lou) and make my way home whilst I could still keep my eyes open. As soon as we got home I was then feeling wide awake, I think the cold evening air that hit me after leaving the pub made me wake me up. For the novelty I thought it would be cool to ring my parents at that time (knowing that it would be late morning in the UK) so I did but then didn't end up going to sleep until 3am!

On Saturday we had intended to go out for the day but the weather put an end to our planned outdoor activity so we decided to relax and recuperate from a busy week (but mainly the night before!). In the evening we headed out to a local shop in Burnaby to buy a new camera case for the Nikon D5000 we got a Christmas. We then just stayed in and watched a film in the evening. On Sunday we headed into Downtown Vancouver to do a bit of shopping. The city is really starting to get ready for the Olympics now and the place seems much busier than usual already. There are many advertisements on some of the large buildings which were not there a week ago, many people on the streets pushing Olympic related things and many artwork installations have suddenly appeared around the city too. 

I think the homeless people have also ramped up there numbers because there seem to be even more around the city now (there's at least one or two on every street). I got approached by 5 beggars in the space of 10 minutes whilst on my lunch break last Thursday, needless to say I didn't give them a dime. So much for the governments plan on trying to sweep them up off the streets and out of the sight of the tourists! I'm pleased about this in a way though because people will see the true poverty that exists in the Downtown area. Hopefully the government will be shamed into addressing the issue properly if the eyes of the word also notice our huge problem here - because whatever they're currently doing it's blatantly not enough. We plan on heading in to the city again this week (after work) to take some photos, we need to do it now because (apart from when I head there for work) I'm planning on avoiding the area as it will be chaos when the games begin! 

My back has been really hurting me since late last week so I've not wanted to spend too long sitting down hence the short post today. I'm not sure what has caused it but I may have done whilst playing football during the week (If I did do it then I didn't actually notice at the time). I'm starting to think I should probably register with a doctor at some point!

On Saturday evening Lou and I went downtown together for the first time in a few weeks. I head down there everyday for work during the week but it's so much better when your heading across for fun! We decided to go for a nice meal and we opted for The Keg which is a nice steakhouse chain located a few minutes away from Burrard Station. There are actually four of their restaurants in the city, we previously went to a different one when it was Lou's birthday back in August. Our meal was great, we both went for the prime rib which came with garlic mashed potato and fried onions it was all very tasty but difficult to finish! We've actually had 4 meals at The Keg chain now (including when we went there on holiday in 2005) and each time it's always been good, I would definitely recommend it to anybody and everybody. After finishing our drinks we then headed back, joining the SkyTrain at the same time as all the Canucks fans who were leaving the stadium after seeing a great 5-1 win. We managed to get seats so it wasn't too bad and within 20 minutes we were home with our feet up watching a movie. 

               

For the past couple of weeks we've noticed the water hasn't been getting as hot as normal in our apartment in the early morning when we get up for work. However it's always been fine around 8am when we've tried it at weekends. Assuming it was probably just a case of the water heating in our building not coming on early enough Lou emailed our residential office to see what they could do. They acknowledged the email by saying "thank you for the maintenance request" and that (we thought) was it.

This morning after I left for work Lou returned home from her night shift and jumped into bed for some well deserved sleep. However she was woken at midday (after only 4 hours sleep) by a noise outside. After waking up she went to use the bathroom only to find a big bunch tools strewn all over the floor, the hallway light on and the sound of water rushing out of the bath tap. With no notice or permission at all a maintenance man had been given a key to our place, let himself into our apartment and had began work on the shower whilst Lou was asleep in the bedroom! We didn't even know they would need to come in to our home to fix the issue we complained about and we certainly were not given a 24 hour warning that they are required to do by law (which they are usually good at doing).

Luckily the maintenance man was on his lunch break when Lou woke, but it was still a big shock to her and needless to say she wasn't best pleased and it scared her a little bit because initially she thought we might have been burgled. Lou got on the phone straight away and complained to the office who immediately came over to see what was happening, and although they apologized for screwing up it still didn't really stop us from being annoyed about it. Apparently somebody new had started in their office and had not managed to handle our request and the subsequent maintenance action properly meaning that we never got notified with a slip under the door like usual. Apparently we're expected to accept this as a reasonable excuse, or so it seems! We were then doubly annoyed when we then realized it was not a one day job and we would be out of hot water and a shower until they have got this fixed!

For the rest of the afternoon work carried on in the bathroom, and they made plenty of noise whilst they smashed away tiles and fiddled with the piping (and yes of course, they didn't have the part they needed to fit). This stopped Lou from being able to use the bathroom or getting any further sleep - not the best thing when you're not expecting it and you have another night shift to do! Eventually by 3pm they left and they were going to leave us with no water at all until Lou complained and they agreed that leaving the cold water on would actually be ok. When Lou queried them about how we were supposed to wash ourselves their answer was to give us access to another apartment which was empty - except it was in the apartment building next door to the one we live in! They even left our bathroom in a mess and didn't tidy up, triple and quadruple annoyances!

By the time I got back from work Lou was pretty worked up and frustrated - understandably so after only having 4 hours sleep, not being able to have a wash or even use the bathroom at all. I convinced her to phone work and let them know she wouldn't be able to make it for the night shift tonight because she was in no state to go in. This also means we will now lose out on some money too (annoyance number 5 if you're still counting!).

With little choice but to accept their offer of the spare apartment Lou took the key to this other place and finally at 5pm we went to go for a shower in the apartment in the building next door. I went along with her so that I would know where to go tomorrow morning. We put the key in the door to this 'empty' apartment to only then open the door and be in the middle of somebody's home amongst all their personal belongings (kids toys were all over the floor etc). After mere seconds we dashed back out and didn't stay in their long enough to know if someone was in (but we think there was no one home at the time)! How bad is that? I would not be happy if some random neighbour was given the key to my place and decided to let themselves in, even if they were unaware of it's occupancy! It's just a good job for them I guess that we're trustworthy people! We ran over to the residential office to tell them what had happened and the lady there explained it was an apartment with the same number but in our own building that they should have given us the key to - what a joke (yep that's the 6th annoyance)!

I like the fact most people in BC are chilled out and laid back but when it comes to things like this it's not always a good thing. Disorganization is rife in so many ways out here and often I have to admit I find it amusing but not this time when it's directly affected us (karma?). Everyone wants their home to be secure, safe and access to it managed properly. Until now we haven't had a great deal of concerns or problems with the apartment management but this is all a little bit disturbing, let's hope they at least fix the bloody shower tomorrow! 

This week was rather uneventful here to be honest so I don't have a great deal of interesting stuff to write about. I took two days off at the start of the week as I wasn't feeling too good (no, it wasn't the sushi!) and then the remainder of the week has just consisted of going to work, getting home and then going to bed. We've been out to the shops recently and got lots of supplements and vitamins to try give our bodies a bit of a boost, we've just both been feeling worn out and tired recently so hopefully they'll help.

On Thursday evening a friend of mine came over to our place and we realized it was the first person we've had visit us at our apartment even though we've been there 6 months! On Friday I got sidetracked at work and ended up leaving an hour and half later than I was supposed to, I joined my workmates for a quick beer after that and then made my way home before 7pm. Lou is now working on nights for the next couple of weeks but as she starts at 11pm I still get to see her for a few hours before she goes and in that respect it works out better than when she's on evenings. The only problem is sleeping during the day can be a bit hard for her and she's already feeling a bit spaced out. Hopefully though after these couple of weeks she won't have to do nights for a while.

Weather wise it's been still quite mild here with temperatures around 8-11°c but we have had a substantial amount of rain and I still need to get a decent umbrella. The news outlets here are still going crazy on stories about the Olympics with the games set to start in less than a month. Many commuters are getting worried about some of the delay estimates being bandied about at the moment - some people are suggesting it may take up to two hours to get on a SkyTrain at peak hours! I will be aiming to avoid that somehow though I'm hoping it will turn out not to be as bad as they're predicting, only time will tell.

This week has been great for me at work, I was off on Monday and finished at 1:30pm yesterday, meaning that I only had two and half days at work this week which was cool. On Wednesday I wasn't in a rush to get home with Lou being at work so I decided to stay at the office afterwards and make use of the free beer keg! After leaving work we then went to a bar for a couple of hours too but as it was 'a school night' I was back home shortly after 9pm. After work the following day (NYE) we did more of the same but from midday onwards this time as work was so quiet. I was actually back home at around 5pm, slightly inebriated but my excuse was that it had already turned midnight in the UK! I then watched the Canucks game on TV, which they came back from 3-1 down to win 4-3. After that I watched the the Canadian Juniors who came back from 4-2 down against the USA to win 5-4 in a shootout.

Lou has been back on the evening shift this week which finishes at 11pm and hence it meant we didn't plan anything extravagant for new years eve. It wasn't a bad thing though, everything (no matter where you are) seems always way too busy and expensive to go out on new years eve and it's never really something we've been big on. Call us a pair of grumpy so and so's if you will but this is how we actually like it! Lou managed to get out of work a bit earlier and was home for 11:10pm which worked out well. We saw in the New Year on our balcony watching all the fireworks from the neighbourhood and being sang to "Edelweiss" via Skype from Lou's Mum which was too funny!

This morning I woke up at 9am but still felt slightly tired so I went to back to sleep - only to then wake at 1:30pm! The weather is really bad today so we're just going to stay in as most indoor places are also closed so that really limits what we can do! We wanted to both end todays post by wishing you all a Happy New Year, we hope that 2010 is a great year for all our family and friends.