It's been a couple of weeks since my last post so I thought I'd write a short update for our family and friends in the UK and let them know how we're doing. The hockey play-offs have started now so I've been chilling at home in the evenings watching the games on TV but we've still not been to a live game yet as the tickets are so expensive and hard to come by. The weather has been weird for the last couple of weeks, some days it's been really good with a lot of sunshine and then others it's been very wet and rainy. Typically on the days I've wanted to go out and do something it's rained and when I've wanted to stay in it's been great weather. Most evenings have been a little bit muggy and I'm thinking we should consider getting an air conditioning unit before the hot weather really kicks in (maybe in 6 weeks or so).

I mentioned in my last post that I had handed in my notice at work but as of this moment I'm still there! I was offered a couple of different positions (I guess it's flattering really that they didn't want me to leave as they could have just marched me out of the door) and I've opted to try one which is quite different from the one which was stressing me out. Hopefully it will work out a bit better for me but I'm still a little bit unsure at the moment. Long term I still have doubts that it's exactly the right thing for me but the least I can do is give it a shot and see how it works out. However I do know for sure I won't have to work out of hours and they'll be no weekend work so that's good and it should be a bit more easy-going in terms of the people I'll be dealing with. So far all I've done is squat at the desk of one of the guys who's showing me the ropes and it's weird not being able to get down to business on my own computer. Admittedly there's still some stuff I need to learn and I'm hoping that once I start doing the job properly it'll be something I'll enjoy but I can't really say either way at the moment as it's hard to predict. To summarize a somewhat boring story in short - I'll basically be training our customers how to use our software as opposed to supporting it when stuff goes wrong with it!

Last week we didn't get up to a great deal early on and then in the latter half we just went to some local malls buying some new clothes and some bits and pieces in anticipation of Lou's trip back to the UK. We've been keenly listening to the news on the whole Icelandic Volcanic Ash situation hoping that it will have cleared by the time she flies back this weekend. On Friday we went for a meal at an Indian restaurant in Burnaby called Saffron which was delicious. I probably, no sorry, I definitely ate too much and I felt like a weeble-wobble by the time I left. The difference being that if I'd been knocked over I probably wouldn't have bounced back up! On Saturday Lou had to work so we didn't go out anywhere and then on Sunday it was nice weather so we took a stroll up to Burnaby Central park again which is only a 10 minute walk away from our home. We took some nuts and almonds with us for the squirrels, it was amazing how many appeared out of nowhere as soon as they noticed we had food. We noticed there were quite a few ragged ones in the park this time which haven't seen so prominently before. I can only assume it must be mating season and they are all fighting over each other to prove who's best!

           

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We've experienced several public holidays in the 9 months since we moved to Vancouver and overall we've either preferred them to their UK equivalents or they've at been just as good as ones we've previously celebrated. However, one thing I have to admit is that when it comes to Easter the UK, without a shadow of a doubt, does it best! There were no easter eggs in the shops here, no real Easter themes anywhere and there's no Easter Monday statutory holiday. When that's put that together with the way things panned out for us - this holiday sucked big time. Maybe it was also because we had no family around us making plans (we've always just gone along with everyone else's plans around this holiday) but it just didn't seem like everyone made a big deal out of it over here.

I had to work on Good Friday despite it being a statutory holiday due to the nature of my job (I do however get this Friday off) and I was also the on-call support person for my company all weekend, 48 hours for a measly $60 (£39). This basically meant I was stuck indoors for the whole weekend as I needed to have access to a computer. I joked that it felt like I was on 'house-arrest' only worse and by the end of the weekend I was suffering from severe cabin fever! I couldn't go out and do anything fun or even relax properly because I was always anticipating the "blackberry-of-death" (as Lou nicknamed it) to ring, which it did on numerous occasions. Lou also had to work the evening shift on Saturday and Sunday meaning that we didn't even get time to really see each other - the whole thing was crap. Today I was back at work like normal and I sure did miss the UK Easter Monday football schedule and family get-togethers I've had in previous years. Lou is also at work now as I speak and I will be asleep before she gets home. This is definitely not one to remember that's for sure!

So apart from having a crappy Easter there's a few other things that have been going on in our lives. For the past week I've been working the evening shift at work which was from 4pm until Midnight so I didn't do anything notable during last week and we haven't really had a good day out since my last blog post (hence the lack of updates). I have also decided that my time is coming to an end at work and I handed in my notice at the beginning of last week despite me being only 5 months into the job. Things just weren't working out for me and despite working with some super cool guys I find the actual job frustrating and stressful and it's time for me to get out as it's starting to make me unhappy outside of work. It's just not a good match for me. There are some talks of me doing another job within the company but nothing has been decided as of yet. I think likelihood is that I'll probably be saying my goodbyes at the end of next week (but things could change over the next week, we'll see). The whole thing has been done on good terms, I've just opted to be honest and express that it's not working out for me. I think they're disappointed because they like me but they understand that if it's not something I'm happy doing then I have to do what I have to do! Also (at least on my part!) I'd never rule out a return to the company either as long as something more suitable came up so I'm glad things have been amicable.

In some ways it's a shame as the company is ok overall and they will be going places. A lot of the people there are nice etc but the actual job was a bit of a backwards step for me career-wise (and I mean that sincerely with no disrespect to my friends) and I don't want to prolong my time there and become unhappy with life here. This is the first job where I have literally sat in the same chair each and every day and done the majority of work via the phone and remote assistance and it's just not for me. It's a 'firefighting' role and not something I can do long term. I prefer project work where there's a clear beginning and an end to something and where I can also vary my location, similar to what I did in previous jobs at Jaguar and IBM. Luckily I had started to think it wasn't for me around the end of last year (after only 6 weeks) but we needed the money at the time and I also wanted to give it at least a few months first before making any rash decisions. I've since banked the majority of my wages in anticipation, we have a significant tax rebate on the way and I have a few plans up sleeve about what I want to do next. The short and simple of it is - don't worry because we're not, this is hopefully going to be a positive move!

Saving the best news until last, Lou's brother and his lady had a baby boy last week and we have already had a chance to do a video chat and see the little fella, it was awesome! Lou has booked flights to go back and visit her family at the end of this month and is very much looking forward to seeing everyone especially the new arrival. I will be staying in Vancouver during this time partly due to the cost of flights and partly due to me having plans of getting my head down and working on a new project of mine. It will be the longest time we've ever been apart from each other in 7 years but I'm sure we'll be ok, admittedly it will be slightly strange though!

We hope you all had a better Easter than ours :-)

This afternoon Lou was in downtown Vancouver (for the second day in a row) as she'd been attending the 2010 World Congress for Psychiatric Nurses. The event finished in the early afternoon so I headed down there on the SkyTrain to meet up with her soon after. Today is last full day that the Olympic Flame is going to be burning (it gets turned off tomorrow as that is the last day of the Paralympics) so we decided to use this opportunity to get a photo of it before it goes out.

We met up near the Vancouver Convention Center, it wasn't as busy as I expected and I managed to get a good spot for a photo. After that we had a short walk around the sea front, had a super crap McDonalds (why I still eat there I have no idea) and we then made our way home as Lou's feet were aching after her busy day! We're now just going to relax, try and plan something fun for tomorrow and later on watch the Canucks vs Detroit on TV.

         

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