Hopefully clever comments about life in Vancouver, B.C. as lived by a French girl from Montreal
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Minimal effort
It has been a tiring week and we're still a couple of days away from it being over. Tonight, I had the grand ambition of making it to the gym for a bit of cardio, but I figured that my body needed more rest than exercise. I am climbing twice a week anyways...
It's 8 and I'm ready for bed. Must have something to do with the 7 a.m. starts and the late nights, the cooler weather and the shorter days, my throat that is just borderline annoyed but not yet sore. Better not take any chances.
Recent outings to the climbing gym have been a blast, I'm dabbling in 5.9s and 5.10s, even climbing two routes in a row to increase my endurance. My hands are starting to get calluses again. I'm having too much fun.
On October 26, 2002, I was on a one-way flight from Montreal to Vancouver, wondering how this next chapter in my life was going to unravel. I was two days away from starting a job in a new company, in a city I didn't know, a week away from getting an apartment, and a few weeks away from receiving what I had shipped via railway from Montreal. Fortunately for me, I was welcomed with open arms by my then-to-be-boss, a kind-hearted woman who let me stay at her place until I could move into my own place and who, over the next little while, introduced me to life on the West Coast.
It hardly feels like five years have gone by since that day. When I look back, I see all that I have done and seen and think "yes, it's been that long". I've traveled all along the West Coast of Canada and the US, I've gone camping in beautiful remote areas in BC, have admired scenery that most people only see on postcards. I developed a taste for running, ran five 10k races and worked up to a half-marathon. I discovered kayaking, showshoeing, hiking, climbing, salsa dancing. I bought a condo in a hot real-estate market and have been a homeowner for four years. I changed my career path and am only a few months away from completing an MBA (OK, half a year away, but still). If anything, the past five years have been extremely busy.
I just don't feel like five years have gone by. I don't feel older. I do feel a little wiser though, more knowledgeable about life and what I want from it, about my goals and aspirations.
I wonder if five years ago, I had any idea that I would stay here for so long...
Merci pour tes mots, c'est très gentil. Lauren et moi sommes sains et saufs, notre maison n'est pas en danger. On a reçu des amis pour 24 heures; ils avaient été évacués. Ils sont maintenant de retour dans leur maison intacte.
Petit à petit ça retourne à la normale. Aujourd'hui il y avait 25% de mes collègues au bureau mais j'anticipe presque tout le monde demain.
Watch this video, send the link to friends, to family, to men and women around you. We all know this is happening, I've never seen it so bluntly exposed.
Winter in Vancouver is a rough season for shoes and boots. I should know, all my footwear has sprung a leak at one point or the other. Then you let them dry, spray them with a sealant and maybe your feet will remain dry for a few more weeks.
This winter, I decided that I've had enough of wet feet. I went out yesterday and bought two pairs of waterproof boots. The first is more like a shoe, it's something I can wear on long walks in the rain from Clarks. My pair is dark brown, not black. The second pair is more for work and going out. They are knee-high boots from Elle (yes, same as the magazine) in waterproof leather. I bought a pair in brown, since I already have knee-high boots in black.
I'm also going to purchase a water-repellent solution that I can use to treat my Kanuk. It was always water resistant, but after five years, it doesn't stay as dry. It needs a good cleaning first, then a water-repellent treatment. The products are sold at MEC.
I seem to be set on weekly posts. Until December, it just might have to do, I can't seem to find the time to write during the week.
Every Friday, I have this little routine that helps my body and my mind break away from the week and get nicely settled into the weekend. Before I head home, I pick up some sushi and a movie, or a few episodes of a TV series. Then, I go home, don't answer the phone, eat yummy rolls in front of the TV. Last night was no exception, except I had to do everything under the pouring rain. It's OK, I mean I know once I get home, everything comes off and is hung to dry while I slip into comfy and warm clothes. But still, I rained so hard, my jeans were wet up to the knees and there were rivers rushing down pretty much everywhere in the streets. I guess the storm drains can just take so much.
While I was enjoying a Dragon roll and about to find out if Meredith Grey was really dead, I saw this flash of light outside. "No", I thought, "impossible!" And then the loud crack of thunder shook the building. So amazing.
Back East, lightening and thunder are common. Summer storms are very dramatic, the explode almost without warning and then leave after dumping large quantities of rain all over. Here, we never get thunder. In the (almost) five years that I've been here, I think I heard thunder twice. We get rain, days and days of rain, but it's not often a sudden downpour mixed with heavy winds. Well, we did get that last year and look what happened...
I love big storms. When they happen in the summer, they usually help clear muggy and heavy warm air, bring in a welcomed breeze and soak parched gardens.
We've had lots of rain here in Vancouver this week, but I count myself lucky. Twice when I was walking back from the climbing gym (about 30 minutes), I barely got a drizzle even though we had seen heavy rain all day. It rained mainly when I was at work. Rain is also a good motivator to spend the weekend working on my applied project. I started sending sections for review by my supervisor. So far, he seems to think that I'm on the right track and I'm discovering really interesting things.
Living according to a carefully planned budget means that you spend within your means and that, hopefully, you are even left with a little extra at the end of the year that can be saved for a rainy day. Because rainy days happen. A lot of people do not live within their means and because they run out of money before the end of the year, they borrow. The next year, not only do they have to pay their yearly expenses, but they also have to repay their debt. So they borrow more. If this cycle doesn't stop, you stand to lose a lot.
Sustainable Business published an article on Ecological Debt Day. October 6 marked the day that humanity consumed all resources that our planet could produce this year. We already started borrowing on next year's resources. Ten years ago, we started borrowing in November.
This is really bad budgeting. What happens when we have to declare bankruptcy?
I'm only a few hours away from a turkey dinner at my colleague Nathalie's place. Since Nat lives far ($30 taxi ride from the closest Skytrain station), I rented a car today. This also allowed me to do some grocery shopping, the timing was perfect since my fridge was empty. Since it's cold and rainy outside, I'm also in the mood to cook stews and soups. Yum.
Now, I had a car reserved at National at 10 a.m. this morning and I was not happy to learn that I would have to wait for cars to be sent from the airport 'cause they had none left. Apparently, car rental companies are like airlines, they overbook, even during busy weekends. Except that this weekend, not many people cancelled. I only got my car at 11:30, but at least they changed my one-day rental fee from $35 to $25.
I posted a few pictures from Anaïs' wedding, none with me unfortunately. I didn't take many pictures, my brother was also there and he has a really good camera. I figured he would take tons anyways. Only problem is that we might not see them for a little while, he had a trip out of town from Monday to Wednesday, was finishing his packing on Thursday and moving into his new condo yesterday. I hope everything went well and that the place was ready.
