I guess it's official now

I am moving back to Montreal in September. Well, OK, not exactly in September because I really only plan to be in town for a few hours on September 10, before leaving for 17 days in Greece. However, when I return from Greece on the 27, my final destination will be Montreal.

After almost six years living in Vancouver (October 26 would have been my sixth year anniversary), I can honestly say that the decision to move back was not taken lightly. It represents a major change and I know that I am moving away from so many amazing friendships and incredible outdoors experiences. I will truly miss my friends from Vancouver, but I felt this was the right thing to do at this point in my life. It also helps that I have been offered a job that I'm extremely interested in. Nothing I have come across in Vancouver and in Montreal stirred my interest like this position. I'm excited.

I will continue working at my current job until Friday. The word has started going around the office that I'm leaving and it's heart-warming to see how people are genuinely sad to see me go. I have amazing colleagues, they've helped me keep sane while dealing with some of the crazy realities of work. After three years, we feel comfortable together and we work efficiently, because we know each other well. I hope I can build such meaningful work relationships in my next job.

Once I'm done with work, I have a few weeks to get things sorted out, pack my stuff and prepare for the move. Moving will be a lot easier this time. First, I'm not taking all my furniture back, as Annie is renting my place and keeping the essentials. When I find an apartment in Montreal, I'll use her furniture until she comes back from Vancouver. Also, I don't have to worry about where I'll be staying until I find my own place, as my parents have kindly offered me my old room back.

My challenge over the next few weeks will be to find the time to meet with friends, take in as much of the Vancouver sights as I can, work on my outdoors climbing skills (in preparation for Greece, where we hope to climb in Meteora), prepare the condo, and pack what I plan to bring back. I'm happy I decided to work only until the 15 because working until the end of the month would have meant a mad rush during the first 9 days of September.

Am I 100% sure that I am making the right decision by moving? No, there's obviously doubt. But I am trusting my gut instinct with this decision, as well as my heart, and both are pointing East.

That's just too much snow for my taste...

It's been snowing all day and although this weather would make for a lovely snowshoeing outing, this is more than I want to deal with in the city. Looking at the banister on the balcony, close to one foot fell just today! So far, my plane seems to be on schedule, leaving for Vancouver at 7:55 tonight. Fingers crossed. It's already a long flight back, I don't really want to sit in the plane for hours while they de-ice the wings.

It's been a lovely Christmas holiday. I feel about five pounds heavier, but at least I'm well rested, ready for whatever 2008 is going to throw my way. I didn't make any resolutions this year, I'm happy with how life is treating me, and since I'm already working out regularly and eating healthy, I can't think of improvements in my overall habits. Maybe one goal for 2008 will be to start a worm compost in the garage, to reduce the amount of garbage I create. Dad has one in the basement (well sealed, no escapees so far) and even offered to send me back to Vancouver with a handful of critters in a small container. Somehow, I think I'd rather find my own stash on the West Coast. We have lots of worms. With the rich compost generated by the worms, I might have a better success with my patio plants. They were a little bit unhappy last summer. I also blame the lack of sun.

Last night, after a wonderful dinner with friends of the family, I ventured out to meet friends on Crescent. What a zoo. For those of you reading from Vancouver, it's like the Granville Street strip at 3 a.m., but crammed in a one-block radius and just as busy for the entire evening. Madness. The cops were there when I arrived around 1 a.m. and still there, running after drunken partiers at 3 a.m. when the bars closed. I thought it would be very difficult to find a cab to return home, but I only had to walk up Crescent to Sherbrooke to find tons of free cabs that were not sitting in traffic. Vancouver has a thing or two to learn about making cabs available during peek periods. When I was heading out for my work Christmas party a few weeks back, it was about 7 p.m. on a Friday (and raining), which means the perfect storm for cab transport in the city. I tried calling five different companies for 20 minutes before giving up and walking to the nearest hotel on Broadway. I think they only hire one operator (the same for all companies) to answer calls. Silly.

Five years

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...

One word

I spent a great evening last night with Gerri, Lara, Charles, and Joe (who joined us after dinner). Charles' birthday was last week, Gerri's is this week, since both Lara and I are dealing with the heavy workload of the end of the semester, we tried to celebrate both birthdays on the same night.

Everyone met at my place for a glass of wine, then we headed out to Relish. This is the second time I eat at this restaurant and both times have been quite pleasant. Relish has four menus, Casual North American, Asian, Mediterranean (mostly Italian), and West Coast Fine Dining. Usually, when restaurants try to master too many types of cuisine, they never really do any one of them really well. Relish is an exception. Their menu is also reasonably priced and they have a varied wine selection. We had a wonderful dinner.

Then, we headed out to George, our repeat spot for an after-dinner drinks. We didn't stay out late, both Lara and I were looking at busy days today.

Lara talked about a book she was reading where the author was using one word to describe cities/countries around the world (can't remember the reference, I'll let you know if I find it). So we started thinking about words for Canadian cities. Montreal was "sexy", Toronto was "ambitious", Quebec city was "charming"... when it came to Vancouver, Charles came up with the best word: proper. I think "proper" reflects well our view of Vancouver. Mind you, I think the choice of word depends on where you come from and where you've lived.

This said, I don't think that our little group can claim "properness", if that's indeed how one would describe Vancouver. We were asked twice last night if we were from out of town. Gerri has lived here for over ten years, I've been here for four. But apparently, we do not come across as Vancouverites. Because we typically switch very rapidly from French to English and then back to French, most people can guess that we all come from Montreal, although our waiter last night thought we were from Paris. I think this speaks at length to how nicely dressed we all were ;)

My one word for Vancouver these days: rainy. Today's storm means we're probably stuck boiling our water for another few days. The color of the water had greatly improved yesterday, but I'm afraid that today's heavy rain is going to once again fill the reservoir with all kinds of sediments.

This is the song I'm listening to: When the Night Feels My Song, Bedouin Soundclash.

Hot, hot, hot!

A quick note while I cool down at home and before heading out again. Fred has been in Vancouver for two full days now and he's lovin' the weather :-) It's been really hot (low 30s), sunny, not a cloud in the sky. Yesterday was a drive up to Whistler, then a ride up the Gondola, and a chair ride up to the peak. Breathtaking views. Today, a long walk around Stanley Park and a ride up another gondola to visit Grouse Mountain. Tonight, maybe an ice-cream on the beach, watching the sunset... And tomorrow, more activities, Granville Island, maybe the art gallery after dinner, the beach in the afternoon? So much to do.

Unfortunately, I won't get to post any pictures until Fred goes back home and burns me a CD. His camera refuses to talk to my Canon software, even with the proper drivers installed. So you won't get to see Melissa with a bit of a tan (kidding, red's not a real tan).

:-)

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

Attraction

I've been going out a bit more these days, because the sun is back and it stays dry outside for more than 24 hours. The rain has a way of making you want to stay on the sofa with a movie, drinking a warm tea. There are salsa nights, cultural outings, girl's night out, and afternoon meetings for coffee. Bars are usually not my thing, never have been, which is curious since I worked in bars for many years. There probably lies the reason why I dislike them so much, I know the crowds that they attract and the lifestyle.

As a now single woman, I do look at the men that cross my path (or at least pay a bit more attention now) and I have to admit that so far, I've never come across someone who made me stop in my tracks, turn around, someone who caught my attention. I see a lot of good looking boys, with their messy hair and surfer looks (and attitude, dude), but I don't want to meet boys. I asked Lara the other day what she thought of the men in Vancouver. I know Lara's been scouting men for her best friend. We are both coming to the same conclusion: this city lacks attractive, interesting men who are not already dating, engaged or married.

Men also don't flirt here. That must be something that Montreal got us used to, where men have an easier time talking to women, smiling at them, just saying "Hi" where you walk pass them. Here, if you walk towards a man walking alone, he'll often lower his eyes or look elsewhere, at least until he's passed you.

Now, Charles beg to differ on our examination of the dating situation. For the price of a home cooked meal involving meat in the company of his girlfriend and alternate girlfriend (that's me), Charles will reveal the secret to attracting the type of men I am seeking but not finding. Because I am intrigued at what he will come up with and because he is leaving abroad for the next six months (for work), I had to take on his offer. I've also been meaning to cook a nice roast :-)

You never know, if his material is good and proves to be helpful, maybe I'll publish my own best-selling self-help book, specifically for the single women of Vancouver: Dating in the City of Glass.