An Update

Just wanted to write a quick update about my personal situation at the moment. As of now I still don't have a job, although I have had some more promising leads recently. I am signed up with 2 agencies now and have had a couple of opportunities with Randstad in particular, even though they kind of screwed me over on a guaranteed job last week, they are at least finding possible employment for me, so hopefully sometime in the not so distant future they will come good. 

My other agency tend to only offer short-term temporary jobs that are kind of crappy. I tried to work in a call center last week despite my concerns towards that sort of work. I was right, I hated it from the word go and couldn't work there another day, so I told the agency I wasn't going back. Money isn't tight enough for me to dread going to work just yet. 

I am hearing back more from my applications, which is also good. I am caught in a bit of a pickle though. Do I take a shitty permanent job that pays poorly or do I hold out for a job I might like that pays better? People tell me to take the shit job and keep looking for another job, but I just can't see how people work full time and look for another job as well (how can you go for an interview when you have a permanent job?). It has never worked for me! So, for the time being I am holding out a little longer, but the day is approaching that I will need to take anything I can get. 

Also last week, I did something to my foot. No idea what but over the course of a few days it got to a point where I couldn't walk or leave the apartment. Particularly frustrating as this weekend was possibly the hottest since I have been here and I couldn't leave. Thank God we have a balcony and I can stream the Olympics online with my foot one ice. I managed to hobble to the mall and buy some super strong medication, which has definitely helped a little. I can walk with less pain now but I still won't be leaving until this is sorted. My medications says if the pain remains within 5 days of starting taking it, to see a doctor, which I will do.

Other than that, my life has been pretty ordinary of late, hence I haven't been writing here a great deal. Hopefully I will have some good news soon though :) We shall see! 

The Celebration of Light

Last weekend I went to something known as the Celebration of Light down on English Bay, which is described as one of the best fireworks displays in the world. It consists of 3 nations showcasing their finest fireworks displays in competition with each other, with the best display being voted the winner. 

It lasts 3 days but I only managed to make it to one of the evenings (the first one). Apparently over the course of the 3 days around 1.5 million people flock to English Bay beach to witness the displays, and I can tell you that stat is most likely true. 

Knowing it was going to be busy we headed down early. The display started at 10pm but we got there at 7.30pm to get a good spot, which we managed, right in front of the barge the fireworks are set off from. We passed the time playing cards and chatting, whilst watching the stunning sunset over the mountains to the North West. Gradually the beach got busier and busier until you basically couldn't move or leave without walking over hundreds of people. 

Now, I'm not a big fan of large crowds and this is probably the largest I have been in and on one hand I was pretty uncomfortable, but on the other it was amazing to see so many people in one place. 

The fireworks themselves were somewhat anti-climactic in my personal opinion. Maybe they had been talked about in such esteem that I had ridiculous expectations. I always look back to the New Years displays of London and Sydney as a comparison. This wasn't even close. It was fairly poorly structured and not very choreographed. There were periods of dullness with the odd bit of greatness thrown in until it built up to a pretty special crescendo. 

This was from day 3, Italy's display. I didn't take this pic.

I'm glad I went and would probably go each year, but I wouldn't go to all 3 events each year (sadly I think the one I went to was the poorest of the 3 nations, Vietnam) and honestly the very long wait in order to get a good viewpoint is a bit of a put off. Oh, and the journey home was hell. 500,000 people trying to leave at once is not pleasant and in order to avoid a crush people we sent in the opposite direction of their goal, the SkyTrain (which by the way, was ridiculously busy to say the least)

England Vs. Canada Pt. 3

So, I started these off by saying what I think I will miss about England and what I think I will like about Canada, but now I'm here, I can say what I DO miss and what I DO like, so here goes:

What I miss...

1. British Pubs

Pubs dont really exist here in Vancouver (and I imagine Canada). Anywhere you drink is a loud bar. You can't beat a good old British Pub, the chitter chatter, the old buildings, the old drunk guy who can't go a day without visiting his local pub. There is so much character to pubs, whereas there is nothing to bars. I've heard it is mainly because alcohol licenses here are insanely expensive, and most bars here are also restaurants in the day, as being a place that serves both food and drink is cheaper than a place that just serves drink. 

2. Antiperspirant Spray

 

It doesn't exist here as far as I can tell. You can get those horrible antiperspirant roll on things, but they are truly dreadful and seemingly leave your armpit wetter than normal, if anything. Baffles me, as does this next one...

3. Cordial

Again, haven't seen sight nor sound of it when I've looked. You can buy juice that is already diluted, but that's not the same at all. You can obviously buy pop as well. You CAN buy these weird crystal sachets that you put in your water to make it fruity (similar to cordial) but they taste like crap and leave bits at the bottom of your glass, even if you stir it. 

What I like...

1. Maple Syrup Baked Beans

Oh yes, this is food fit for a king. What a brilliant idea, adding maple syrup to the rudimentary baked bean. Fantastic. I'm not normally partial to baked beans, but throw in some maple syrup and by gum it's good. I think England is scared to meddle with the classic baked bean in case they somehow offend someone, somewhere. We're living in the past! Maple beans are the future!

 2. Confidence-boost clothing

Ever thought you were overweight in England? Come to North America. Oh, you were an XL size in England? Pfft, that's a medium here. Large in England? Small here. You know what I'm getting at. This place caters for the fat, even making them feel less guilty about their weight issues by mislabeling their true size. Fat gits need not worry, you will soon be a slim Jim once you buy your clothes over the pond. 

3. Cheap travel to the US

I only realized recently just how cheap it is to fly to the US from here. My friend said lets go to Vegas for her birthday in August, to which I laughed at. Then she told me it is only $400 for flights and accommodation for 4 days in Vegas. $400!! That's only about 250 pound. It would cost thousands to go to Vegas from England. I even checked myself, she wasn't lying. Now, still, $400 is a lot to me right now so I doubt I can go in August, but hell yes I will be doing some traveling to the US. Vegas baby! New York, San Fran, Chicago. All fairly cheap! God I can't wait to get a job, save a little then go on an adventure in America.  

England Vs. Canada: Weather

I guess I can't really compare England's weather to all of Canada, as Canada's weather varies dramatically depending on where you are (for example, Toronto has blistering summers and arctic winters, whilst Vancouver has cooler summers and milder winters), whereas England's doesn't change a great deal in relation to where you live (It's a little warmer down south).

Vancouver takes a lot of stick from other places in Canada it seems, being given the nickname "Raincouver". I'll admit after my first few weeks here I could see why it had that name, it did rain a lot and the weather was far from summery for the entirety of June. However, July is a different story! 

For the past 2 weeks or so it has been sweltering heat. Well, sweltering by my standards. Around 22c to 27c each day as a minimum, and it doesn't look like stopping anytime soon. It's not just that though, it's so humid here compared to England! Even in my house I am uncomfortably hot. We have all the windows open, including the balcony door. Don't get me wrong, I love warm, sunny summers. But I do like to be able to escape from it as well. God what I would give for air con in my apartment. I don't know how people live in places like Toronto, where it's easily in the 30c's daily. It's just TOO hot, and then they have winters that are like -20c. I'd take England's weather over that any day.

Vancouver's weather is similar to England, it's just England's "summer" lasts a week, whereas here the seasons are of a normal length. This weather will probably last well into August and by then I will be hoping for those rainy days England enjoys so much (not enjoying it so much recently it seems, with floods all over the country)

Capilano Suspension Bridge

It's felt like a while since I have been a proper tourist here in Vancouver as things here seemingly become more and more day to day, rather than a vacation, however, yesterday we decided to become true tourists again and go and cross off one of the top attractions (on my list at least) in Vancouver, the Capilano Suspension Bridge (all photos are mine because Im such an awesome photographer!) 

The bridge itself is 450 feet wide and 230 feet high and apparently draws in 800,000 visitors each year. I can see how they reach that number though, it was extremely busy, mainly because it was a scorching Saturday. 

As you can see from the picture, the bridge is fairly wide and it's just as well, as people love to stop and take photographs on it (why wouldn't you, the views are amazing!) There seems to be no limit for how many people are allowed on it at once, and it shakes to high heaven. 

Taking photos on the bridge is extremely difficult as you have to hold onto the rails with one hand in order to not fall over. I can't emphasize just how wobbly the bridge is, definitely not for the faint hearted. Also make sure all of your belongings are secure, my sunglasses fell off from my neckline but luckily landed on the floor.

This photo is the view from one side of the bridge, to the right you can see the cliff walk and below is obviously the river.

The other side of the bridge is just water and what appears to be an apartment block in the distance, with balconies overlooking the canyon (I bet they aren't cheap!) 

What is surprising is just how close this area is to the busy streets of North Vancouver. It is like a little gem in the city, but you certainly don't notice that from within the canyon.

Recently the bridge added a lot of new features to the site. It's not just a bridge that you cross, on the other side is a huge area to explore, with a treetop adventure (pictured) and lots of sights and photo opportunities. This area is less crowded and more spacious (although you do get backlogs at good photo spots).

There is even a small area with rescued birds, which had a kestrel, a hawk and this lovely owl.

One problem of going over the bridge to the treetop area, is that to get back, you have to go back over the bridge. A lot of people seemed scared at the thought of going back over it, as if it was a once in a lifetime challenge. Kids were being dragged back across by parents, throwing themselves on the floor. Don't kids just find a way to ruin even the most amazing places? I'm definitely not one for heights, but I felt safe throughout, but the adrenaline is certainly a thrill! 

But, the fun isn't over yet! Once you've returned over the bridge, you have the cliffwalk. This is a thin single file walk around a cliff face. EVERYBODY stops to take photographs here, and because it is single file, long queues form behind. But, if you are patient and courteous, you get a chance of some fantastic photos yourself. 

Luckily, along the way are viewing points so the build up does subside now and again. 

After this, you have seen all the sights at Capilano Suspension Bridge. We managed to spend around 4 hours there, but you could probably rush through it all in around 2 hours, if you didn't care for too many photos and you didn't stop for a bite to eat. There is also a lot of reading and cultural writings there, you could spend a lot of time if you wanted to read about the rainforest, the importance of water etc.

Overall, I had a great day out. People say it is expensive ($38 per person inc. tax) but it is absolutely worth it for a one off visit. If you don't mind extremely touristy places, with families and children around, you will love this place. You might want to go in the middle of the week, or when it's not such a hot day, because it really was packed when we went.

And now back to reality, job hunting, yay! 

Canada Day! 

So July 1st is Canada Day over here and there are celebrations across the country. Canada Day is basically the birthday of Canada, when the colonies of Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick all joined together to become Canada on July 1st 1867.

Downtown Vancouver hosted performances, parties and general merriment all day, with most of the main streets closed off. The place was awash with people in Canadian colours, with flags and face paint.

We didn't actually head into Downtown until the evening, because the day is mainly for families and kids, and the parade and fireworks were from 7pm onwards. 

Canada Day Parade

I was excited for my first ever parade. We don't have many in England, especially where I am from. Even if we did I probably wouldn't have ever gone, I'm far more outgoing here. 

Having seen parades on TV numerous times, you sort of have expectations, which I did. The optimist in me says the parade was a fantastic gathering of people out celebrating the same thing, with fun and interesting floats and bands walking past with music and dancing. The cynic in me says it was a little disorganised and just a pile of advertising that went on for way too long!

Canada Day Fireworks Display

Now, the fireworks display was what I was most excited about. I have never been to a "proper" fireworks display. One where real money is spent. The best I have been to is the back of a pub on bonfire night in England. Suffice it to say they are never breathtaking there. So, how were they?

Well, they were good, much much better than anything I have seen in person before, but they weren't spectacular. I'm not sure what I was expecting, maybe something like the choreographed ones you see on New Year at the London Eye or Sydney Harbour Bridge, a little farfetched I'm sure. Either way, I enjoyed them a lot and you can't complain when it is all free! The Celebration of Light later in the year on English Bay should surpass it though :)

Overall the day was fun and light hearted. I'm glad I went and experienced it, as I may not get the chance again. There were some negatives though, lots of weed and drunk people, which is all well and good for a night out, but not so much for family and kids.

Silly Signs Pt. 2

Huzzah! The second installation of silly signs is here! 

This one isn't exactly a silly sign as such. It's just North American's always find it odd that England has so many roundabouts. They're pretty rare here and this is the first I seen. I find it funny they are simple enough to just call it a circle though :D

This one is an odd one for me, maybe it is common here for people to require permits for busking on the streets, but it's not in the UK. You have to pay something like $40 for a permit and you have to prove you have a skill. Just sounds like another way for the government here to take money off people for no reason, they like to do it a lot! Wouldn't surprise me if buskers had to declare taxes on their earnings here too!

Another Stanley Park special. I don't think I need to describe much about this sign, it speaks for itself. Funnily enough I did actually see a raccoon in Stanley Park that day, and tried walking towards it, but it scarpered. Lucky for me as I would have surely caught rabies if I got any nearer.