You have to hit the clubs at 9:30 to avoid lineups

Welcome to Vancouver!

I'm not a big fan of clubs, but once in a while, it's fun to go out with a few girlfriends, maybe do a bit of dancing. On Saturday, Lara and I decided to have a night out and after getting a few recommendations about some good places from Raf, we picked Ginger 62 as our venue. By ten, we're both ready to go, waiting for the cab company to answer the phone, quite in a good mood. 10:25, the cab parks in front of the club and there's a lineup. Yes, lineup. OK, we're thinking it can't be that bad, so we go directly to the source and ask the bouncer how long the wait will be. 45 minutes. Right. Oh, you're actually serious. Ouch.

Neither of us has ever waited 45 minutes to get into a club and we're not about to start in Vancouver when it's cold and windy outside, and we're not dressed that well. So we walk to another bar close by, Bar None. Again, there's a lineup. Again, 45 minutes. They train you at bouncer school to answer pretty girls who are trying to avoid the lineup with the same line: it'll be about 45 minutes.

We're not discouraged yet, we walk to Lucy Mae Brown, also close by. Fortunately, downtown Vancouver is small, clubs are all within the same area. No lineup at Lucy, but the club (downstairs, the top floor being a restaurant) is full and hosting a private function. We ask if we can have a few drinks at the restaurant and the host is about to show us to the table when some other manager comes up and says we can go downstairs afterall. So, we crashed someone's birthday party and had a great time. Nobody seemed to mind the two strangers, and the two other who dropped by when Gerri and Joe came after the opera.

So, if we want to get into Ginger 62 and Bar None, what time do we have to hit the place? 9:30? That's dinner time, way too early...

Is it Friday? It should be Friday!

I can't believe how busy I've been lately. Good busy, once again, but busy nonetheless. I just came back from two hours of salsa, the first hour being the lesson and the second, the practice session. Raf and I had fun, we tried different combinations, different movement sequences (well, he tried, 'cause I just try to keep up and follow properly). We're going to continue the classes into level 3, where things get serious and they teach you really interesting moves.

Last night, I went to the opera with my colleague Soraiya, to see Faust. It was great, a bit morbid but then again Faust is no comedy. Good thing for the dialog showing up in English on top of the stage, because I couldn't follow the story just by listening to the singers, even if the original dialog was in French. Well, some did pronounce a bit better than others :-)

And to top it all, I'm back on a pretty busy running schedule, in preparation for the half marathon on June 25. I kept up the running after the half in February, but not at the intensity I need to prepare for a race. Which is normal. But now, time is not on my side and two months is just enough to prepare and build up to the 21km distance once again.

Combine consistently busy days at work with busy evenings with more workouts and you get one tired Melissa. Where's my bed?

Especially tonight... I was up early this morning to do my fit test. After ten sessions with the personal trainer, it was time to see some results. I'm pretty happy with the progression. I lost 3% of body fat mass and gained quite a bit in lean mass (muscle). My chest, back and legs are all stronger. I'm not smaller or lighter, but I do feel that my resistance has increased. The training sessions were a good investment. I'm not going to sign up for another ten, but I will sign up for bootcamp sessions at lunch time. Bootcamp is a good full-body workout that keeps your cardio pumping for an hour. I know I wouldn't push myself that hard, so having someone push for me will help keep the pressure on my workouts.

OK, off to bed now. Mmmm... bed...

Sun Run 2006

This year, it was a real Sun Run, not a Rain Run, not a Cold and Windy Run, but pure beautiful sunny April weather. Very nice. 50,745 other people also thought so, I'm sure. Yes, this year's race broke the 50,000 runner count, quite impressive.

Less impressive was my time, but I blame the crowded course and the fact that I was a bit overdressed (still have to figure out my spring-summer gear). I was hoping to run the 10km under an hour, and I ran in 1:05. Oh well, there are plenty of other races out there, I'm sure I'll beat the one hour mark one of these days.

From now until June 25, I'm on a tight running schedule. I have to get back on track for the Scotiabank half-marathon!

In a little box

I did mention in a previous post that work was going through some changes and I didn't know where I would fit after these changes. Well, today, I kinda found out. I was politely placed in a little box, the same box that many others are being placed in, and told that this was now my place. I don't fit in the box, it's square and restrictive, it has a defined volume and the top can be closed. I really don't fit in the box. I prefer shelves, or a little corner, sometimes I'll even take the entire table and other times, I would fit in a pencil case. Please... not the box.

I tried arguing against the box, saying I was claustrophobic and it would make me unhappy. Apparently, it doesn't really matter, everyone gets a box and has to live within it. That's the new rule. I asked if I could get a bigger box, to stretch my legs now and then. No, this is the box I get. It has very little legroom.

How unfortunate, but at the same time, how clear. How clear that the new directions fit so poorly with my direction. Now the goal will be to find an employer who lets me choose the box, or maybe at least cut a window in one of the sides so I can look out now and then.

Awesome!

I used a web-based software to prepare my income taxes and then filed everything electronically. This entire process took about three hours and cost less than $20. Cool.

I'm also getting a refund :-) Double cool.

Dear Charles - Week 5

Dear Charles,

Well, after two weeks of absence, I can't say that I have found very exciting news stories for your reading pleasure. Maybe it was unusually quiet this week, maybe it was the crappy weather that
dimmed my interest.

I tried finding a news story about the arrest of the individuals believed to have killed Constable Mark Bourque back in December, but found nothing. Maybe the news hasn't been communicated to the world yet. I did find however an article asking the question: what is Canada doing in Haiti? The article is very "leftist", but I did find the question interesting, as our media seems to give little or no attention to the missions Canada carries abroad, except for Afghanistan.

What Canada is Talking About
A great story about a CBC journalist finding a classified document detailing Hydro-Quebec's new security procedures on the Montreal subway. This internal document was Hydro-Quebec's response to public criticism following another story where Radio-Canada reporter Christian Latreille made it inside Manic-5, unchallenged.

This story really caught my attention because I am reading The Art of Deception, from Kevin Mitnick. Mitnick is a hacker turned security consultant who argues that the weakest link of a company's security strategy is too often its employees. The book talks about carefully plotted attacks by social engineers who, by asking simple questions to unsuspecting employees, gain unrestricted access to a company's classified information. In the case of the Hydro-Quebec document, a security advisor (none the less) obviously thought it was OK to print a copy of this very sensitive procedure and carry it around. Until his briefcase was stolen... Unbelievable!

Large parts of Manitoba and North Dakota are under water: 40,000 hectares of farmland are now flooded and so is the border crossing.

Peter MacKay is a big fan of Condoleezza Rice. She didn't seem to care much about him and the US will continue to pursue a plan to enforce new passport requirements for people who wish to cross the border. In January 2008, we will need a passport or a special ID issued by the United States to enter the country.

West Coast Stories
Over 100 officers raided 14 different locations in an effort to find Graham McMynn, who was abducted at gunpoint eight days ago. Who is Graham McMynn? The son of a wealthy Vancouver family. Does the police typically invest so many resources in trying to find kidnapped or missing individuals? I wonder...

The Vancouver Canucks are out of the playoffs, I expect rioting to start in Vancouver anytime now. Maybe the fans will feel better knowing that the Leafs were also eliminated! At least the Canucks won their last game of the regular season.

OK, why would someone steal blood vials, I have no idea. But these specific vials had HIV-infected blood, which makes the story even creepier. But apparently, people will steal anything that is
locked away and later decide whether it has value or not.

None the Wiser
On Wednesday, we received an e-mail at work from our Bangalore office to inform us that there would be on an unscheduled holiday on Thursday. Unscheduled holiday? Well, the real news was that a famous and well-loved actor died and that people were sent home for their own safety. Yes, safety, because the death was accompanied by much public confusion and even some rioting... I guess there any many ways to express your grief.

Personally
I was off on Friday for the Easter long weekend. My friend James (I don't think you've ever met him), who is on training for the navy in Victoria, was visiting and arrived Friday afternoon. He was in the mood for sushi and had found a decent all-you-can-eat sushi place on Robson, so we called Lara to invite her to join us. You know Lara never refuses sushi :-) James also wanted to get in touch with his friend Trevor, so he invited him as well. Dinner was really good, Trevor came with his boyfriend Cody and a lab that he training to become an assistance dog. After dinner, we went to Trevor's place for a few drinks. It was a fun evening.

Then, on Saturday, I rented a car and with Lara and James, we drove up to Whistler. We made it just in time to get a few hours of sun. You should have seen your girlfriend, she was excited about the beautiful mountains covered in snow! It was really quite the sight. We had dinner at the brewery and walked around the village, soaking in the rays and the large long-weekend crowd. Then, James left to go visit yet another friend and Lara and I had dinner together. We watched Madagascar, a really cute cartoon from the producers of Shrek.

Today is cold and rainy, so I'm staying in, doing some cleaning and hopefully my taxes. I'm procrastinating this year, I just really don't feel like dealing with them. Oh well.

Kiss, kiss.
Mel

Well-deserved long weekend

It's Thursday night and I feel like I've filled the past few days with many initiatives, concerns, and activities. I'm happy to sleep in a bit tomorrow.

The week at work has been busy. I'm trying to see if I can redefine my role to make it more interesting for me to remain with the company for a little longer. It's a real challenge, but in a strangely rewarding way. I think a few teams are interested in keeping me around, everyone of them with different ideas, goals, and offers. What I'm not sure at this point is who will decide. Will it be strongly hinted where I should focus my attention, or will I be presented with a choice. I expect the next few weeks to bring answers.

Then, in addition to the mysteries at work, I've been dealing with Strata business, pushing forward to replace our existing management company. I think we're getting close, but nothing is decided quickly when a Strata is involved. This weekend I have to prepare a letter to invite the owners to a Special General Meeting, where we will decide to go ahead with the change or not. Council does not have the authority to make this decision. I'm hoping to have this business addressed before I return to school in September, as I will not be able to devote any attention to much else besides work and studies.

I've also spent a few busy evenings. On Tuesday, I had a lovely dinner with Gerri and Lara. Gerri was telling us about her recent trip to Thailand and Lara saying how much she misses Charles. We had a tasty Indian meal, all vegetarian, with a wonderful home-made daal. On Wednesday, I went for another level 2 salsa class. With my Friday class, I have the option of also attending Wednesday classes for free. The opportunity of getting more practice in was more than welcome. The open session afterwards gave me the chance to dance with some very talented leads. I think I'm slowly getting the gist of following, at least when the signals are clear. It actually requires to completely let go of your thoughts, to only keep moving, 1,2,3... 5,6,7... I'm really enjoying these classes!

And tonight, a Council meeting with yet another property manager. After I phoned the general manager of our current company, I think he fired our existing property manager and then sent us a brand-new hire. Poor guy, we were discussing leaving the company and he was just starting his first day! We told him not to take it personally.

Now, I'm off to bed. I have lots of stuff to do this weekend, my taxes, more resume work, Strata letters... Lara and I are renting a car and driving to Whistler on Saturday. Unfortunately, the weather looks pretty disappointing for the long weekend. Cold, rain, wind. Maybe a good idea to spend most of it on paperwork.

More challenges ahead... that's life I guess!

I woke up this morning to a very quiet condo... The unfortunate thing about visitors is that they eventually leave and are missed again. It doesn't take long to miss the people you love :-)

So, before settling back into my old routine again, I decided to spend a few hours recreating my resume. No worries, I'm still employed (as far as I know), but recent changes in the company have convinced me that the opportunities I saw eight months ago are no longer there. I'm taking a proactive approach this time, planning a transition ahead, as it might take me longer to find something. I'll explain.

I've been working as a technical writer for seven years now. Although I still enjoy this type of work, it is no longer challenging. I feel I've learned all I wanted to learn about technical writing and that it's time to move on. My recent experience with project management has confirmed this need for a change. I'm excited about the projects I get to manage at work, less excited about my documentation deliverables.

Looking for work in a field where you have limited experience is very hard. When I looked at my existing resume, I knew it wasn't going to convince anyone that I could manage projects. Instead of using a traditional experience-based format, I rewrote everything to focus on professional skills. I like the new format, it's short and to the point.

I already started monitoring the job opportunities in Vancouver and found a few interesting project management openings. My gut feeling tells me I should plan a move before the fall, especially with the MBA classes starting in September. I'll be busy enough with school to worry about work and I don't want to start classes and a new job at the same time!

James!

For those of you who do not know James (well, if that's even possible), he's like an older brother who adopted our family when we all lived in NDG. James and his family used to live right down the street from my parents, a few minutes away. He used to drop by all the time to say hi and have a coffee, or play with Matisse.

A few years before I moved to Vancouver, James moved to Ontario to finish his studies at the military college in Kingston. He's been living in Ontario since, now in Hamilton with his wife Sarah. We don't get to see each other very often.

However, a month or so ago, I received a phone call from James who was in Victoria, training at the navy facility over there. Since then, we promised that we would try to see each other. He knew that mom and Annie were in town this week and took advantage of a training exercise in the waters around Vancouver to hang around with us. It felt like a real family reunion.

Today, James brought two of his military buddies to Granville Island for an afternoon of visiting, eating, and beer tasting. We took the beer tour at the Granville Island Brewery. This was not the Heineken Experience in Amsterdam, but we had fun!


Annie and James tasting beer

What a great week!

The great thing about having visitors is that you get to play tourist and visit all kinds of fun places. This week has definitely not been an exception.

I'll let the pictures speak for themselves and recap the past few days. We've been to the Van Dusen Botanical Garden and Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden, all over downtown, to the Capilano suspension bridge and Longsdale Quay market, to Granville Island, and to the Bloedel Conservatory at Queen Elizabeth Park.

Last night, we had a lovely dinner with my former colleague Anna, James and James from the military, Catherine who is a colleague of Annie in BC. Then, a bunch of us took off to salsa to do a little dancing... Hola Chiquitas!


Mel, Lara and Annie at salsa

Visitors have arrived but it's still raining!

Mom and Annie landed safely in Vancouver Thursday night. Annie said hi and then hopped into a taxi heading to Metrotown. She's working at a conference until Monday afternoon and we will not see her much until then.

In the mean time, mom and I are spending time together, mostly indoors. Normally, when people visit, the weather takes a turn for the better. Not this time. It's pretty wet outside. Oh well, this IS Vancouver, and we just have to arm ourselves with a couple of umbrellas before stepping out.