i know i've been a bit incommunicado recently - somefolks have emailed me asking if i'm alright coz they hadn't heard anything from me in a bit!! (how nice!!)
well, to cut to the chase, i'm working, and i'm moving into a new place tonight, so on that front it's all good. i have to say tho, it's not been as smooth aride here as it was in dublin or edinburgh in terms of getting settled, but i'm pretty much sorted out now.
my original plan was to hit the ski slopes at Whistler as soon as i arrived, try and get a job etc, but its pretty much been one of the worst seasons in recent history and therefore virtually no snow there at all.Bummer.
i've managed to make a coupla good friends here, and they've taken me on a ride into vancouver's seedy underbelly which has been interesting (and fun!) to say the least. i've had one or two dramas along the way as well (it wouldn't be right if there wasn't - you guys are fully aware of my travelling mis-haps!)
when i first arrived i checked into a backpackerhostel for two nights on granville street, which is Downtown's main party/theatre/club/cinema district, altho i was suffering the effects of 4 days solid travelling and jet-lag , and so never really explored much (my first saturday night in town i was in bed by 7pm! - knackered).
my good mate Travis and his girlfriend Michelle (met while travelling in Asia) then offered me a weeks free accommodation on the floor of his swanky apartment while i looked for permanent digs and a job. travis was in between jobs and had a week off, so he also offered his services as a tour guide around town, so that first week was pretty sweet.
in between doing the rounds of the temp agencies(first time in a shirt& tie in god knows how long!),and scouting about for my own place, i was taken to see some of the sights.
Granville Island market is a sweet spot with loads of arts and crafty shops, where local artists and indigenous community can ply their wares, as well as the usual touristy paraphernalia - a good spot to kill a few hours. went for a few beers at a roadhose-styled bar called Carlos 'n' Buds as well, to sample the locally produced Granville Brewery beers.
He also took me to Capilano Suspension Bridge, an awesome attraction literally 15-minutes drive from the city centre, and you feel like ur in the middle of a wilderness forest area. it's a relic from the days of logging in the 19th-early 20th century, and is essentially a cable bridge linking two sides of a valley over a wild river, with an amazing view to Grouse Mountain. A new addition to the site is a "Treetop Walkway" with boardwalks thru the canopy of the forest - so pretty and so well designed to blendin with the surroundings.
The following weekend, a few of his buddies came over from Nanaimo on Vancouver Island. I had brought 3 bottles of liquor over from the Middle East and Prague that needed to be consumed, and Travis knew just the lads to help! Sitting on his balcony on the 17th floor, overlooking False Creek River, and in between Absinthe shots, and Turkish and Jordanian moonshine shots, we were sinking copious numbers of beers, to the point that we were rather hammered.
Then one of the lads thought it'd be a great idea to go out on the town and initiate me fully into Vancouver life - by taking me to 'Penthouse' - one of the numerous strip joint tittie bars in town. How could i refuse!!
Needless to say we all felt a little worse for wear the next morning, but a good-ol' fashioned fry-up at The Elbow Room cafe would soon sort that out. This place is famous for its breakfasts with queues forming out the door. Its also famous for its unique brand of service - a little coarse to say the least. they have signs up on the walls saying things like 'you wanna coffee re-fill? - Get it ur f***ing self!!' it's all in good fun of course, and you can give as good as you get if the waitress gives you lip. Great brekky by theway!
At this point, my free week was up, and Trav took his job in neighboring province Alberta, (by the way, thanks a million Trav and Michelle) and i had to check back into the hostel - i still hadn't found anything nice to stay in....a couple of dumps, but not much more. I had found a job tho - just a 2 week contract, but it was doing Market Research, and it was $9 per hour.....way way way below my usual. the last time i worked for $9 was about 6 or 7 years ago.
so i was in a bit of a fix - expensive hostel, crappy paying crap job, and still no permanent place to live. this did however, turn out to be a blessing in disguise of sorts - i met this guy Derek who was earning the same as me, but paying farrrr too much rent for his place, so i suggested a temporary solution. i'd stay on his lounge room floor and split his rent in 1/2 for the time i was there. i'd save about 1/2 on what i was paying at the hostel, and he'd be $65 a week better off. he agreed - it was all sweet.
this is where my life got interesting! see part 2 (coming soon) for more!
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