Summers just a distant memory

The last few weeks have been a bit of a whirlwind of working twelve hour days, finding a new place to live, lots of dining out, movie watching and a random day of kayaking.

Deepcove

On one of the last weekends to enjoy some sun Jitka, Jenna and I jumped at our last chance to head over to Deepcove in North Vancouver for a spot of kayaking. It was a fantastic afternoon, and was over far too quickly. I'm thinking Im going to have to spend another summer here just to catch up on all the kayaking I missed out this last summer.

Jitka

Jitka and Jenna

And Jennas off!

I am really enjoying my new job, but am finding the hours quite intense at the moment. My body has adjusted to the 5 am wake ups, but Im turning into a real grandma at night. I haven't had the energy to cook properly or even go to the supermarket in weeks, so I've been dining out fairly regularly or simply not eating at all because I simply have no energy left. But don't worry, working for a catering company means I'm pretty well taken care of. Oh and after only two weeks on the new job I was given a pay raise! I don’t really have a clear role in the company, I’m more like a buffer, or the lubricant added to a pressure point. Where ever there’s a crunch point, or pressure spot I get chucked in and sort things out. I don’t really have a supervisor, so I don’t directly answer to anybody and am just left to get on with what I deem to be most important. It’s a very refreshing and good spot to be in. I don’t have someone constantly watching over me, Im just left to get on with things, and in their words they think the sun shines out my bum.

Dried Seaslugs in Chinatown

The company has a huge staff, and is largely male dominated - meaning its not somewhere you would last very long if you were super sensitive or very politically correct minded. But the energy, easy goingness and family spirit make it a fantastic place to work for me. I feel very anchored there, which is important when new to a city, I feel like I have a Mom and Dad there looking out for my well being, there is also annoying prank playing brothers, hilarious chatty gossipy sisters, random weird/goofy cousins and the occasional slightly dodgy uncle. So even if the hours are long, and hard - you still have a reason to keep getting up in the mornings.

Food Market in Chinatown

As I was only subletting my current place, my time has run out and I have since found a new apartment to live in, (three blocks away haha) and will be moving in tomorrow. It’s a really nice place, rooms a bit small but will be cosy in the winter. I managed to score a free (nearly new) double bed from jumping quickly on an ad I saw on a website, and my boss let me take one of the work vans to pick it up. I happened to be training a new driver at work that day, so he volunteered to help me move it - so I couldn't have struck it any luckier really. And after complaining that I didn’t have time or know where to go to buy bedding, one of the managers at work volunteered to be my own personal shopper, and is sorting out everything for me this weekend so I just show up on Monday and everything is ready to go. So you could say I’m being extremely well looked after here.

Mojito Night, Main Street - Nic and I

Next weekend I’m inviting all the random’s I’ve met in my few short months here and attempting to cook a Thanksgiving meal, for all those that are away from home. I’ve never cooked a turkey before - so ahh should be interesting. The Vancouver International Film Festival started a few days ago, so the next few weeks are going to be jam packed with foreign films, starting with ‘Atonement’ which I saw yesterday morning, and highly recommend. Oh and while I’m on films, Nic and I managed to score free tickets to a special screening of Good Luck Chuck a fortnight ago (just standing in the right place at the right time) and it was pretty much entirely filmed in Vancouver - so if you watch it, I’ve pretty much been to all those places and walk past those buildings most days.

Mojito Night, Main Street - Jitka and I

Im sorry if I’ve been useless at keeping in contact, I don’t have my own computer, I have very limited access to a computer at work, when I move I’m not going to have Internet at all, and no home phone just a cell phone. So until I can put enough money away for my own laptop, contact from me is going to be pretty intermittent but not impossible. I will still be checking email all the time, so if something comes up I can find a way to get in touch.

So now summer is over, fall has set in. The trees are changing, and the Halloween decorations are on sale and there is a distinct cold nip in the air.