Summertime, and the living is easy

Finally, a day of summer. After months of snow faces, icy winds, bobble hats and numb fingertips, I once again wore trousers that didn't have to go to my ankles (I call them shorts).

The ingenious idea that Steve, Jonny and I had was to stroll up to Stanley Park, hire ourselves bicycles and then conquer the unruly terrain of the urban foliage north of downtown.

Apparently, everyone else on this sunny Saturday in British Columbia had had the same idea. The bike paths were packed to the nines as we made our way around the sea wall, down to English Bay, and then further.

We had planned to go around Stanley Park, and then maybe into the centre a little bit. In the end we scaled the whole of Vancouver, including Chinatown, Gastown (and the Steam Clock) and then finally back up to the park, and the longest, steepest hill I have cycled up.

After five hours of decent sightseeing and exercise, we finished with Beaver Lake in the heart of the park, where we saw Canadian Geese, cranes and even more beautiful panoramas. This city is the home of the landscape, where at some points you see the beach, the mountains and the city all in one capture. All stark in contrast, all gathered in this fantastically laid back place.

Is this the start of summer? If there is any justice, then the answer will be yes.

Vanny Update

Before I came over to Vancouver I was mainly worried about three things:

1. Would I be able to get a job before I ran out of money
2. Would I be able to make my money last until I managed to get a job
3. Would I be able to get a job?

Well, today I expelled all of those demons, with the beginnings of a promising career in being everybody's bitch (busser) at a delectable restaurant in the heart of Vancouver's beautiful Stanley Park.

It was an honest start to the working life over here. I would be making minimum wage, rely on meagre tips (the dregs of the tips that the main servers attain), and be able to live on for a few more months.

As if this fantastic and lucrative vocation wasn't enough, I was delighted to receive a voicemail on my phone informing me that I had actually managed to land myself another job! This one was maintenance work (i.e. painting, sanding, repairing) at the Samesun Hostel, where I had been staying all week. A couple of trial days on Friday and Saturday means I won't be paying for next week's stay at the hostel, which also buys me some more time to find better jobs. Ideally, bartending or as a server (waitress) in a restaurant downtown. People here live off their tips, which would mean saving money for travelling, soaking up sun, and capturing a ridiculous amount of scenic and enviable photographs.


But for now, I have these crap jobs. As Kate would say (in her mother-tongue): "Better than nowt, petal."