Notes from BC - Filed under 'Burnaby'

April 20, 2010

Work blah, curry and scruffy squirrels!

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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December 28, 2009

Burnaby Mountain Park

After spending the majority of Christmas and Boxing Day indoors we decided to go out yesterday to get some fresh air and also experiment with our new camera. We prepared a picnic and took a drive north of where we live to Burnaby Mountain Park which is close to the Simon Fraser University campus. It only took us about 20 minutes to get there and it was relatively quiet on the roads too. We opted to eat our lunch in the car instead once we arrived though as it was a bit too cold to sit outside for Lou!

The mountain itself is lower than many of the surrounding ones but it still gave us a great view of the Burrard Inlet. Had it not been foggy over the city then we would have been able to see downtown Vancouver clearly too but on this occasion we could only just see certain buildings and structures. The place was really nice and definitely a place we'll be going back to as there are plenty of hikes to go on around the area. We just need to some proper walking shoes now.

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December 7, 2009

Deer Lake Park and West Vancouver

We started Saturday by having brunch at the iHop located in Brentwood Mall. I probably had too much coffee after having 3 cups there on top of the 2 I'd had before I left the apartment, at least I knew I wouldn't be falling asleep in the afternoon! After having brunch we had a quick look around the mall during which we stumbled upon a lot of people dressed up as Santa which was quite surreal. There were literally hundreds of people walking / dancing around wishing merry christmas to everyone whilst in costume. I presume it was a 'flash mob' organized over the internet but I never did find out for sure, the kids in the mall loved it regardless!

In the afternoon we headed across to Deer Lake Park which is still within Burnaby, about 5 miles east of where we live. It's a really nice spot, though it was super cold (-2 with a chilly wind). It was even colder there than anywhere else we'd been that day and there was a lot of frost on the ground. Recently Lou was given an old (but good) SLR by a colleague she works with. They'd had a conversation during which she mentioned we were both becoming interested in photography and it came about from there. It had been so long since I used a traditional camera I didn't even know how to put a film in it and wind it on, luckily Lou did. I took my compact camera with me too and whilst one of us was practicing with the SLR the other took snaps on the digital. It was a nice area but we didn't stay out for hours as our feet were starting to become numb, we'll definitely be returning when it's warmer though. We think we got some good photos on the old camera but as they are on film we wont be able to share the results with you!

We made our way home just was it was getting dark and I started to settle in for the evening once we got back. However, around 7pm after much persuasion by Lou and predictions of chaos by myself I eventually gave in and we went to Walmart to get a christmas tree. Walmart is ok and cheap but because of the savings (I presume) it also attracts a lot of weirdos (for proof check out "people of walmart", a whole blog devoted to them!). I knew it was going to be horrendous but Lou insisted it would be dead once we got there, so I kept my mouth closed and waited for reality to prove me right! Low and behold when we got there it was busy, busy, busy. For any Canadians reading this - I felt like that guy from the Scotiabank advert on TV, I just wish I'd had that t-shirt! To top it off they had ran out of christmas trees too, well all except for the humungous ones. We did buy some other things we needed but then had to wait for 20 minutes to get through the checkout. It was a less than delightful Saturday-night-experience and one we won't be repeating anytime soon. Once we returned home though it was all good, we just tried to wipe out the last two hours from our minds and relax again!

On Sunday we headed out to Lighthouse Park in West Vancouver. We had to drive through North Vancouver to get there and the drive was really cool, probably the most scenic drive that we've done so far. The houses in West Vancouver are stunning too, it looks like a excellent place to live - if you've got a spare few million dollars! It took us about 45 minutes to get there because of some heaby traffic but it was well worth it. The drive was really good, for me especially I guess because I wasn't driving this time so I could look out the windows and look back at the city from above, the views were fantastic.

Lighthouse Park is covered with virgin rainforest and at the most southern tip of the peninsula there is a lighthouse known as Point Atkinson. If I remember right it was built and named under the instruction of George Vancouver in 1792. I'd read in books that the park is home to many different species of trees you don't see in the rest of Vancouver. Admittedly though I'm not clued up enough on trees to be able to make any insightful comment about them! It only took us about 15 minutes to walk from the car park to the lighthouse then we spent some time taking photo's and admiring the view once we were there. We headed back during sunset which wasn't ideal for driving in but it did offer some more good scenery on the way. The fresh air must have got into our systems as we both felt really relaxed in the evening, we just spent the rest of the night watching TV and little else, it was a nice ending to the weekend.