Yesterday we headed into Downtown Vancouver as Lou wanted to get some beauty products from Zennkai and they have store on Granville St. After getting the things she was after we then took a walk around the city, got a slurpee each from 7-eleven to keep us cool and then went to take some photos by the Vancouver Convention Centre on Lou's manual Canon camera. As it's a manual camera I won't be able to share those photos but I also took our portable Sony Cybershot and took some snaps along the way. We noticed a new piece of artwork has appeared now near the convention centre, it's a whale built up by individual cubes in the style of pixel art. Being a techie guy myself I especially thought it was pretty cool!

         

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Whale_pixel_art.zip (8088 KB)

On Sunday afternoon I went to pick Lou up from Vancouver Airport after her two week break in the UK, it couldn't have come soon enough. It was only for 2 weeks but it was the longest time we'd been apart in 7 years and towards the end of the 2nd week we were really starting to miss each other, as corny as that may sound to others! Lou's flight was delayed by two hours and her flight back was an hour longer than usual (because they had to fly around the Volcanic Ash). By the time Lou touched down in Vancouver she was feeling very tired, she'd spent 12.5 hours on the airplane alone not counting the time it took getting to and from the airports. Despite this though she managed to stay awake until 10pm (to try and limit the jet-lag) before getting a well deserved good nights rest.

The weather in Vancouver has been glorious for the past 4 or 5 days, it's been in the 20's most of the time and I've been in shorts and t-shirts most days. We're really starting to think we should look at getting that previously mentioned air conditioning unit sooner rather than later incase it gets as hot as last year. On Monday we decided to head over to North Vancouver on the SeaBus for a look around, it was a good excuse to get out and enjoy the sun. We'd been there twice before and each time it had rained so this time it was third time lucky! We had a relaxing walk around the streets and the seafront area, got a few things from the shops and then went to the Lonsdale Quay market. We had lunch there too as we had spotted a fish & chip place whilst walking about and although we waited a while it was delicious. After a couple of hours we made our way home and spent the night catching up on all the programs which had accumulated on the PVR whilst Lou was away.

On Tuesday Lou was back to work but she started in the middle of what would have been a 4 day shift pattern so that meant she only had to work that day and today (Wednesday). On Tuesday evening we watched the hockey on TV but unfortunately the Canucks were knocked out of the play-offs by Chicago, it was a big disappointment. There's a tradition amongst hockey fans here where all the men don't shave during the play-offs. My beard is starting to get quite long but I guess I can now shave it off, it was getting a bit annoying but I'd rather have kept it if it meant the Canucks were still in the Stanley Cup.

Today I watched Leicester on TV in their play-off match second leg against Cardiff. I was lucky the game was broadcast over here, but I wasn't so lucky with the result. For those who don't know already, we got knocked out on penalties after 120 minutes of intense football. I won't write a match report but the team did really well and put in 100% effort, we just didn't get the luck in the shootout. I was totally immersed in the match and forgot I was 4,400 miles away, it didn't stop me cheering them on that's for sure. At one point Leicester were leading the game 3-2, I couldn't help but shout at the top of my voice with joy each time we scored, luckily I don't think our neighbours were home! I'm absolutely gutted for the team, it's been a great season for the guys and it's a shame the dream is over but I'm still proud to be a fox and hopefully we can build upon this next season. I was hoping we'd get to the Premier League not only for the obvious reasons but also because it would mean I would see my beloved team on TV a bit more. I've now got my hope on England doing well in the World Cup so that at least one of my teams have some glory this year!

       

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Good_times_in_the_sun_bad_resu.zip (6993 KB)

Last Saturday evening Lou had already packed her suitcase for her trip to the UK so we decided to go for a meal in Downtown Vancouver. We went to The Keg which is a popular steakhouse chain. There are several of them in Vancouver and we chose to go to the one near Burrard Station. It was our third visit since we arrived here and it's probably our favourite restaurant in the city (although we still have many others to visit). We both went for the prime rib which was delicious and unbelievably massive (and yes, of course I finished mine!).

On Sunday morning we got up early and made our way to Vancouver airport on the Canada Line, it only took about 30 minutes and it's a very quick, easy and cheap way to get there. When we arrived we found Lou's flight number and went to check in. I'd started to feel a bit homesick and started to regret not booking a ticket for myself but then I noticed the huge lineup and heard many grumpy Brits complaining and that subsided my desire to go back a little bit! After checking in we had a quick bite to eat and then said our goodbyes and we managed to do it tear free (just!). It felt weird riding the SkyTrain home on my own knowing that I was facing two weeks of being the only person in the apartment. I didn't really relax for the remainder of the day until Lou phoned me at midnight to let me know she'd arrived and it was nice to hear that she wasn't feeling too bad after the gruelling 9.5 hour flight.

This week has not actually been that bad, it's been a bit quiet but I've managed to clear my head of all the work related stress and concentrate on what I'm going to do in the future. As you may have guessed I decided to leave my job as I'd originally intended. I gave the training role 9 days but I quickly realized it wasn't for me and that it contained many aspects (non-IT related) that I wasn't aware of before I decided to give it a go. Rather than jack it in 2 months down the line (when I predicted I'd have reached the limit of my patience) I thought it would be best to leave on good terms and before I became integral to any of their plans. So now I'm getting my head down and working on a few things and doing a lot of self studying. I am still applying for a few jobs too but I'm also working on my own stuff as well. I'm keeping things a little bit vague at the moment in case things don't pan out they way I hope. I've thought it all through though (and we have money the bank should it be needed).

My plans will hopefully work out better overall for me and Lou. At the moment we have only been spending one in seven weekends together and when Lou has been off work I haven't been and vice versa. Now we'll be able to better utilize the time off and make the most of living in a beautiful province. I noticed a worrying pattern occurring where at times I was starting to feel like I was back in the UK, ie going work and doing nothing in the free time I had because of conflicting schedules. Without having any family to visit and fall back on too I'm always aware that it's imperative we keep things fresh and exciting otherwise we might as well just be back in the UK. Some people have said life can't all be fun and whilst that may be true in my eyes if the balance starts to tip in the wrong direction it's time to switch things up a little bit!

During the week I've been in contact with Lou a fair bit via the phone so I've not had that lonely feeling. It has been the longest time we've been apart in seven years though so it does seem a bit strange and certainly quiet! Lou, some friends and even myself had joked that I may not eat very well in her absence but (after an initial meal of instant noodles and toast) I've been making sure to reasonably healthy and have had plenty of fruit and veg. I have impressed myself with my cooking skills which I'm now eager to show Lou when she comes home. I have to admit though it doesn't come with ease and it seems to take me 2 hours to make something! I've been making sure to get out of the apartment during the daytime and have been making trips to the shops and going for plenty of fresh air. On Thursday I went for a walk around the city and then across the sea wall which is one my favourite places. I took some photo's which are below, Lou has the 'posh' camera so I had to use my phone but they actually turned out quite good. Yesterday I headed over to Commercial Drive and met one of my friends Sam for a few Friday beers. It was the first time in a while we'd met up and it was good to have a catch up and laugh about about life. I love talking to people who have always lived in BC. This afternoon I'm heading over to my friends apartment to have some ribs, beer and watch the hockey. The Canucks are still doing well in the play-offs and are in Round 2, it's early days still but I'm really hoping they go all the way.

                       

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Archive.zip (14363 KB)