It came as a bit of a surprise, but I actually managed to get up and out of the house in time for today's long run. I even got to wear some of the new kit I've been buying! Running in winter can get pretty expensive so i'm glad to have the staff discount to help out.
I know I've been here a while and am adjusting when I say things like "its not too cold today, only about -15C" however, the built-in scarf on my pullover kept falling down so my face still got pretty cold. next time I will try pinning it.
The 16k route involved running round Saskachewan Drive close to my house, so on the return leg I sloped straight back home to try and give myself enough time to get to work on time. It was a lovely run, with gentle snow falling and everything glittery and white. I know which people to tag along with for a good sensible pace so hopefully I can arrange all my training around these group runs.
I faffed a bit too much when I got home so had to rush to get to work. I like how busy it is in the store at the mo, the time flies and we spend a lot of time doing returns and exchanges from Christmas gifts or finding things for web orders. After work I was planning on going to the cinema, but I left work late and had to get some shopping on the way home so we decided to go for dinner instead. I didn't want to stay out too late as Monday morning would give me a bit of a chance to catch up on housework finally. we decided to share a whole bunch of smaller starters rather than get meals and this turned out to be a really good idea and really yummy. I think working every single day is starting to stress me out a little so i'm not sure how i'll get along with working around 45 hours a week once my new job starts or how i'll fit in training as well. at least it will save me some money!
Tuesday, 31 December 2013
Day 118: candy cane lane
It was another full day working at the running room today. Saturday apparently but I never seem to have any idea what day it actually is. With Lazia giving me less shifts, and then me quitting, I am really grateful to be able to pick up all these extra shifts over the busy period but I am starting to get a bit sick of the place. I also spend a bit more time pondering the pros and cons of M-F 9-5 work rather than random crazy hours.
When I quit Lazia I had agreed to work a couple more shifts as a courtesy, but two of my bosses today were helping persuade me to get out of this agreement. They even offered to call for me and pretend to be my parents and tested out their ridiculous English accents (pretty good actually). So at lunchtime I went to buy a mocha as I was feeling a bit sleepy (I've done so well avoiding caffeine up til now. never mind) and called Lazia to say I can no longer make those shifts. Easy! I felt a lot better after that, working new year's day there would have been really boring and rubbish.
For my lunch I got to have Christmas leftover sandwich and I was planning on going straight to my friend's house after work to then drive over to candy cane lane and just make do with some snacking until I get home later, but he texted to say there would be enough dinner for all of us at his place. Yay!
Candy Cane Lane is a few blocks of houses where all of them have made an effort with their Christmas lights. The idea is that you can bring donations for the Edmonton Food Bank and leave them in big bins at one end of the road.
Natalia was coming too, and in the end she picked me up while I was walking to Michael's house, which was great because it was really cold. despite my new snow boots my feet were still cold which I was pretty annoyed about. Michael and his house guests had prepared a three course feast, supplemented with leftovers from yesterday's feast. this is much better than just snacking!
We headed to candy cane lane in two cars as there were six of us, but it was so cold we decided to just drive past the houses slowly and occasionally pull over to take a photo. Some of them were pretty good, but none were as good as the house from a couple of weeks ago!
As I had to be up early for run club, I got dropped home and everybody else went to the pub. It made them laugh as I always say i'm going to run club on sunday and I never make it, but I do actually intend to go this time...
When I quit Lazia I had agreed to work a couple more shifts as a courtesy, but two of my bosses today were helping persuade me to get out of this agreement. They even offered to call for me and pretend to be my parents and tested out their ridiculous English accents (pretty good actually). So at lunchtime I went to buy a mocha as I was feeling a bit sleepy (I've done so well avoiding caffeine up til now. never mind) and called Lazia to say I can no longer make those shifts. Easy! I felt a lot better after that, working new year's day there would have been really boring and rubbish.
For my lunch I got to have Christmas leftover sandwich and I was planning on going straight to my friend's house after work to then drive over to candy cane lane and just make do with some snacking until I get home later, but he texted to say there would be enough dinner for all of us at his place. Yay!
Candy Cane Lane is a few blocks of houses where all of them have made an effort with their Christmas lights. The idea is that you can bring donations for the Edmonton Food Bank and leave them in big bins at one end of the road.
Natalia was coming too, and in the end she picked me up while I was walking to Michael's house, which was great because it was really cold. despite my new snow boots my feet were still cold which I was pretty annoyed about. Michael and his house guests had prepared a three course feast, supplemented with leftovers from yesterday's feast. this is much better than just snacking!
We headed to candy cane lane in two cars as there were six of us, but it was so cold we decided to just drive past the houses slowly and occasionally pull over to take a photo. Some of them were pretty good, but none were as good as the house from a couple of weeks ago!
As I had to be up early for run club, I got dropped home and everybody else went to the pub. It made them laugh as I always say i'm going to run club on sunday and I never make it, but I do actually intend to go this time...
Saturday, 28 December 2013
Day 117: and i quit!
I got dropped at an LRT station this morning. got home, sorted out all my work stuff to go from one job to the other, changed and got back on the LRT, only to arrive at Lazia and be told I wasn't needed. Somehow I had not received the phone call or text message, but I had stuff to do downtown anyway, and I was so caught up in remembering the things I needed to do downtown and wondering why I hadn't got the phone call that I forgot I was going to hand in my notice today. it had been playing on my mind and I had been a bit angsty about it, so maybe I purposefully forgot to avoid it or something.
this is of course exactly one of the reasons I need to quit. much as it was nice to get the time off as I've been working a lot of hours lately, I do need the cash and a more reliable income would be good. what I wanted was a 50:50 split between my two jobs when actually I've been practically living at the running room and hardly going to Lazia at all.
once I got home, I stalled a bit longer by throwing stuff in a pan to make some stock from the Christmas leftovers, then starting a stew in another pan, and switching my computer on, but then I finally called Lazia and said I would like to hand in my notice. unfortunately, I was probably a bit too nice about it, so when he said they would appreciate if I worked the rest of the week's shifts, I said "sure". I was thinking of it as win-win as I either get more well-needed cash or more well-needed time off, but I had been assuming I would not be going back there again. I am now regretting this.
i'm glad I got to go home and do some cooking as I haven't had much time to for ages. I also got to start investigating races to consider.
just when I was about to leave the house, Salim came in and said there was a blizzard outside and I should really wear my snowboots, so as another exciting advantage of being sent home I got to try out my new shoes! although I didn't change my socks as I was in a rush and I ended up rubbing my ankle raw. long socks tomorrow! the boots were good though and have passed their first test.
the managers were all in a bit of a mood when I arrived as it had been a really busy day and there had been a particularly nasty customer, but the snow had obviously put people off and it was fairly quiet in the evening. there are a lot of people ordering stuff online, which means we have to hunt round the store for things and then get them packaged up for sending. I never imagined this was how it worked when you order things. some items in particular caused us a lot of hassle to figure out and find.
I added to the stress of the store manager when I told him I had a clash with my shifts, but maybe I need to find a way to stop being a wuss, call Lazia up again and tell them I'm not going to work.
because it was so quiet, we managed to get everything done quickly and leave on time. the manager was very keen on going for a drink after work to unwind a bit and I agreed to join him for one drink. which he then persuaded to be two drinks and offered to pay, but eventually I left to go home. my I have to work at 9:30 tomorrow" excuse wasn't any good as he's working tomorrow too at 9am.
it was good to chat in the pub instead of just leaving work, and going back to work again. we talked about differences between Canadians and Brits, my attempts at making new friends, our training strategies, etc. and when I left, he stayed in the bar to hang out more!
this is of course exactly one of the reasons I need to quit. much as it was nice to get the time off as I've been working a lot of hours lately, I do need the cash and a more reliable income would be good. what I wanted was a 50:50 split between my two jobs when actually I've been practically living at the running room and hardly going to Lazia at all.
once I got home, I stalled a bit longer by throwing stuff in a pan to make some stock from the Christmas leftovers, then starting a stew in another pan, and switching my computer on, but then I finally called Lazia and said I would like to hand in my notice. unfortunately, I was probably a bit too nice about it, so when he said they would appreciate if I worked the rest of the week's shifts, I said "sure". I was thinking of it as win-win as I either get more well-needed cash or more well-needed time off, but I had been assuming I would not be going back there again. I am now regretting this.
i'm glad I got to go home and do some cooking as I haven't had much time to for ages. I also got to start investigating races to consider.
just when I was about to leave the house, Salim came in and said there was a blizzard outside and I should really wear my snowboots, so as another exciting advantage of being sent home I got to try out my new shoes! although I didn't change my socks as I was in a rush and I ended up rubbing my ankle raw. long socks tomorrow! the boots were good though and have passed their first test.
the managers were all in a bit of a mood when I arrived as it had been a really busy day and there had been a particularly nasty customer, but the snow had obviously put people off and it was fairly quiet in the evening. there are a lot of people ordering stuff online, which means we have to hunt round the store for things and then get them packaged up for sending. I never imagined this was how it worked when you order things. some items in particular caused us a lot of hassle to figure out and find.
I added to the stress of the store manager when I told him I had a clash with my shifts, but maybe I need to find a way to stop being a wuss, call Lazia up again and tell them I'm not going to work.
because it was so quiet, we managed to get everything done quickly and leave on time. the manager was very keen on going for a drink after work to unwind a bit and I agreed to join him for one drink. which he then persuaded to be two drinks and offered to pay, but eventually I left to go home. my I have to work at 9:30 tomorrow" excuse wasn't any good as he's working tomorrow too at 9am.
it was good to chat in the pub instead of just leaving work, and going back to work again. we talked about differences between Canadians and Brits, my attempts at making new friends, our training strategies, etc. and when I left, he stayed in the bar to hang out more!
Friday, 27 December 2013
Day 116: Boxing Day aka Doctor Who day
After getting up, I started sorting out all the leftovers. one tupperware with meat, one with everything else to be turned into stock. I didn't get time to do more than that though and headed off to work.
It was pretty busy at the Running Room and the time flew. I much prefer it when it's busy, and it was fun talking to the customers about running, shopping or Christmas, although I have been working here almost every day and could do with a break.
Because it was so busy, it was 15 minutes late by the time I left, I rushed home (sort of, most of my route was the same as William's so I chatted to him - he got a lot of Christmas gifts!) grabbed some overnight stuff and rushed out to catch a bus. it seems I missed it but another one came in twenty minutes. Tonight is my chance to catch up on yesterday's doctor who with a fellow geek, but given how late it is, i'm going to stay over in the guest room and get a lift or a bus home in the morning as I don't start work til late.
Doctor Who was pretty good, but maybe i'd been hyping it up too much in my head and it wasn't as good as I was expecting, although the pre-credits bits made me laugh! we then watched Skyfall too as neither of us had seen it, although I was getting pretty sleepy.
It was pretty busy at the Running Room and the time flew. I much prefer it when it's busy, and it was fun talking to the customers about running, shopping or Christmas, although I have been working here almost every day and could do with a break.
Because it was so busy, it was 15 minutes late by the time I left, I rushed home (sort of, most of my route was the same as William's so I chatted to him - he got a lot of Christmas gifts!) grabbed some overnight stuff and rushed out to catch a bus. it seems I missed it but another one came in twenty minutes. Tonight is my chance to catch up on yesterday's doctor who with a fellow geek, but given how late it is, i'm going to stay over in the guest room and get a lift or a bus home in the morning as I don't start work til late.
Doctor Who was pretty good, but maybe i'd been hyping it up too much in my head and it wasn't as good as I was expecting, although the pre-credits bits made me laugh! we then watched Skyfall too as neither of us had seen it, although I was getting pretty sleepy.
Wednesday, 25 December 2013
Day 115: Merry Christmas!
My alarm was set for 9am, but I woke up shortly before that and waited for it to go off. In sleepiness, I kept trying to remember what time I was starting work today and which place I was going to, then eventually realised it wasn't a normal Wednesday! I already had missed calls on my phone from home but wanted to make a start on the cooking first. i'd done some prep yesterday so I decided that there would be enough time and returned the call home first. As i'm phoning from the past, they had already had their Christmas dinner and joked that I had slept in until 4pm.
My first concern was the turkey, complete with giblets to deal with, but everything went fairly well following the instructions on the packet and the prep I had done yesterday chopping herbs and things and I ended up ready to put the turkey in the oven a little bit early, hooray!
Step two, while I was on a roll I wrapped up some pigs in blankets and put them in the bottom of the oven.
Step three, my breakfast! I had some of the leftover sausages with scrambled eggs, tomatoes and toast.
Step four, all going well so time to see what santa bought me! It was wonderful actually having presents to unwrap, i'm so pleased my aunties and uncles decided to post things out to me. So, with Oscar's help I unwrapped: a onsie pyjamas, an owl woolly hat and some Christmas socks. I love the hat so hopefully I can wear it soon. straight away I had a shower and changed into the onsie, which fitted surprisingly well, and put on the Christmas socks. I left all the wrapping paper for Oscar to play with.
step five, roast potatoes. I had some new potatoes that had been sitting in the cupboard for a while and I had already prepped them yesterday. They were wrapped in foil with some rosemary and butter so I just had to put them in the oven instead of the sausages (which I hid in the cupboard so Oscar wouldn't steal them)
step six, phone calls to say thank you for the presents and checking for updates from my guests.
I had been assuming I was in the house by myself, but it turns out one of my housemates was in after all and not planning on going home as his family don't celebrate Christmas. I invited him to join the festivities and felt the need to explain my outfit. I always end up wearing any clothes presents I get straight away, its like a tradition for me.
step six, chopping lots of vegetables
step seven, general tidying, getting dressed and putting out crackers and bowls of chocolate coins. I also set the tv to look like a fireplace as i'd been shown. very festive.
step eight, realising i'd forgotten to mention I live in the basement through the door at the side of the house and updating the conversation, but probably too late.
My first guest arrived a bit before 2pm, and Oscar promptly fled into Tim's room in terror. he is a terrible guard cat. I took the turkey out of the oven to rest and put the potatoes and sausages back in to warm up and people arrived gradually over the next 20 minutes or so bearing exciting gifts to add to the feast.
I got a willing volunteer (Michael) to carve the turkey and he also fried up the sprouts with some bacon instead of just steaming them. Yum. His couchsurfers helped out with the gravy and setting everything out on the counter and Steve found some festive music and mixed up some eggnog. Yitao had bought some Chinese food, but only he could read the cooking instructions so we had dumplings and bean curd as extra sides too.
Some people knew each other already but some didn't know anyone. in the end there were quite a lot of people I had met before at least once, which was nice.
Once everything was ready, it was all lined up on the counter, everybody helped themselves then found somewhere to sit in the living room, so it was mostly a Christmas picnic on the floor. We chatted about what people usually do for Christmas and how awesome couchsurfing is, toasted to a merry Christmas and had a little bit of a rest before the epic dessert.
There were so many different things people had bought so we had icecream cake yule log, pecan pie, homemade cookies, gingerbread, and butter tarts, which is apparently the closest Canadian equivalent to mince pies.
After all the food, we then did a gift exchange. everybody had bought a gift, which went in a bag, then they chose a different gift at random. I bought chocolates and picked some posters. One of the gifts was a fortune telling device, which we consulted about a few important things, like whether we would eat more pie. there were some lottery scratch cards for one gift, which we divided between us. my one won $2!!
we pulled some crackers and read out the jokes. i'm discovering many things that are just British that I didn't realise. like mince pies and pigs in blankets for example, but lots of the foreigners were not aware of crackers which surprised me a bit.
after this we settled down to play some board games, with occasional breaks to scoff more food. It was a very civilised, chilled out sort of gathering and a lovely way to spend Christmas.
in keeping with my usual Christmas traditions, I didn't really go outside all day. I briefly popped out to meet people on the path and direct them to the side door so I knew that it was still fairly warm outside, but we never got round to going out to make a snowman or anything. I am calling it my first white Christmas as I don't remember another one so maybe I wasted the opportunity to enjoy the snow, but I did have a really lovely time. I'm glad that the food was all a success too, and I will probably be living off leftovers for a while.
it was around 8pm when everybody left, so that filled most of the day. Michael's couchsurfers are so helpful that we had already done a load in the dishwasher earlier, so not much tidying was needed but I made sure the food was away first as Oscar was starting to warily creep back out again.
I couldn't really face making turkey sandwiches or anything, so I know it will mean i'm much busier for the rest of the week but I just put my feet up and put the telly on with a glass of baileys. Miracle on 34th street was on, which I don't think I've ever watched properly, and still haven't as I had a break in the middle to get ready for bed (back in my new onsie) and I also had to work out my plan for watching doctor who tomorrow and write all this (i'll add a few photos at some point)
it felt good to be hosting a dinner, made it feel a bit more like home, and Oscar was very cuddly after his day of terror. It made a nice change to have a relaxing evening.
Merry Christmas!
My first concern was the turkey, complete with giblets to deal with, but everything went fairly well following the instructions on the packet and the prep I had done yesterday chopping herbs and things and I ended up ready to put the turkey in the oven a little bit early, hooray!
Step two, while I was on a roll I wrapped up some pigs in blankets and put them in the bottom of the oven.
Step three, my breakfast! I had some of the leftover sausages with scrambled eggs, tomatoes and toast.
Step four, all going well so time to see what santa bought me! It was wonderful actually having presents to unwrap, i'm so pleased my aunties and uncles decided to post things out to me. So, with Oscar's help I unwrapped: a onsie pyjamas, an owl woolly hat and some Christmas socks. I love the hat so hopefully I can wear it soon. straight away I had a shower and changed into the onsie, which fitted surprisingly well, and put on the Christmas socks. I left all the wrapping paper for Oscar to play with.
step five, roast potatoes. I had some new potatoes that had been sitting in the cupboard for a while and I had already prepped them yesterday. They were wrapped in foil with some rosemary and butter so I just had to put them in the oven instead of the sausages (which I hid in the cupboard so Oscar wouldn't steal them)
step six, phone calls to say thank you for the presents and checking for updates from my guests.
I had been assuming I was in the house by myself, but it turns out one of my housemates was in after all and not planning on going home as his family don't celebrate Christmas. I invited him to join the festivities and felt the need to explain my outfit. I always end up wearing any clothes presents I get straight away, its like a tradition for me.
step six, chopping lots of vegetables
step seven, general tidying, getting dressed and putting out crackers and bowls of chocolate coins. I also set the tv to look like a fireplace as i'd been shown. very festive.
step eight, realising i'd forgotten to mention I live in the basement through the door at the side of the house and updating the conversation, but probably too late.
My first guest arrived a bit before 2pm, and Oscar promptly fled into Tim's room in terror. he is a terrible guard cat. I took the turkey out of the oven to rest and put the potatoes and sausages back in to warm up and people arrived gradually over the next 20 minutes or so bearing exciting gifts to add to the feast.
I got a willing volunteer (Michael) to carve the turkey and he also fried up the sprouts with some bacon instead of just steaming them. Yum. His couchsurfers helped out with the gravy and setting everything out on the counter and Steve found some festive music and mixed up some eggnog. Yitao had bought some Chinese food, but only he could read the cooking instructions so we had dumplings and bean curd as extra sides too.
Some people knew each other already but some didn't know anyone. in the end there were quite a lot of people I had met before at least once, which was nice.
Once everything was ready, it was all lined up on the counter, everybody helped themselves then found somewhere to sit in the living room, so it was mostly a Christmas picnic on the floor. We chatted about what people usually do for Christmas and how awesome couchsurfing is, toasted to a merry Christmas and had a little bit of a rest before the epic dessert.
There were so many different things people had bought so we had icecream cake yule log, pecan pie, homemade cookies, gingerbread, and butter tarts, which is apparently the closest Canadian equivalent to mince pies.
After all the food, we then did a gift exchange. everybody had bought a gift, which went in a bag, then they chose a different gift at random. I bought chocolates and picked some posters. One of the gifts was a fortune telling device, which we consulted about a few important things, like whether we would eat more pie. there were some lottery scratch cards for one gift, which we divided between us. my one won $2!!
we pulled some crackers and read out the jokes. i'm discovering many things that are just British that I didn't realise. like mince pies and pigs in blankets for example, but lots of the foreigners were not aware of crackers which surprised me a bit.
after this we settled down to play some board games, with occasional breaks to scoff more food. It was a very civilised, chilled out sort of gathering and a lovely way to spend Christmas.
it was around 8pm when everybody left, so that filled most of the day. Michael's couchsurfers are so helpful that we had already done a load in the dishwasher earlier, so not much tidying was needed but I made sure the food was away first as Oscar was starting to warily creep back out again.
I couldn't really face making turkey sandwiches or anything, so I know it will mean i'm much busier for the rest of the week but I just put my feet up and put the telly on with a glass of baileys. Miracle on 34th street was on, which I don't think I've ever watched properly, and still haven't as I had a break in the middle to get ready for bed (back in my new onsie) and I also had to work out my plan for watching doctor who tomorrow and write all this (i'll add a few photos at some point)
it felt good to be hosting a dinner, made it feel a bit more like home, and Oscar was very cuddly after his day of terror. It made a nice change to have a relaxing evening.
Merry Christmas!
Day 114: Christmas eve
I didn't feel particularly festive having to get up early and go to work but some people were dressed up in Christmas sweaters. and lots of people were coming in buying last minute gifts. I found out that the jacket I had been considering buying was now reduced, so as soon as I had my lunch break I bought one! it should keep me a bit warmer for winter runs. There was also one customer who half-joked in response to "is there anything else we can help with" that a gift-wrapping service would be good. I knew we had some wrapping paper around from the store decorations, so I asked the bosses if I could. it definitely helped me feel very Christmassy! We also had some chocolates from the area manager to eat. I spent a lot of the day with a pair of antlers on my head and generally felt much more festive by the end of the day.
I popped to the shop on the way home, then started checking how long the turkey will take to cook for tomorrow and what else I need to do. It seems the number of guests may have gone up again, but we'll see what happens.
While getting ready to go out, I noticed that "it's a wonderful life" was on telly, so started watching that. I got to see quite a lot of it in the end, as everybody else was running late and I didn't get picked up until about 10pm. I was going to a "Brazilian style" Christmas party.
There were a few Brazilians, a few eastern/central Europeans and some Canadians. People had bought traditional dishes from their countries, the Brazilian tuna pie was my favourite as a lot of the other food was swimming in mayo. We got to dance too, even a conga line. I didn't know anybody but everybody was really friendly. There were two children there, apparently everybody stays up really late in Brazil, so I thought it really wouldn't do to flake out and go home before the kids. And they were great dancers! Just as I was calling a taxi, Fabio asked if I wanted a lift home, so that saved me a heap of money! I didn't want to stay out too late and oversleep tomorrow. I've got a huge turkey to cook.
I popped to the shop on the way home, then started checking how long the turkey will take to cook for tomorrow and what else I need to do. It seems the number of guests may have gone up again, but we'll see what happens.
While getting ready to go out, I noticed that "it's a wonderful life" was on telly, so started watching that. I got to see quite a lot of it in the end, as everybody else was running late and I didn't get picked up until about 10pm. I was going to a "Brazilian style" Christmas party.
There were a few Brazilians, a few eastern/central Europeans and some Canadians. People had bought traditional dishes from their countries, the Brazilian tuna pie was my favourite as a lot of the other food was swimming in mayo. We got to dance too, even a conga line. I didn't know anybody but everybody was really friendly. There were two children there, apparently everybody stays up really late in Brazil, so I thought it really wouldn't do to flake out and go home before the kids. And they were great dancers! Just as I was calling a taxi, Fabio asked if I wanted a lift home, so that saved me a heap of money! I didn't want to stay out too late and oversleep tomorrow. I've got a huge turkey to cook.
Monday, 23 December 2013
Day 113: Countdown to crimbo
I realise I'm calling days of this week "Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday" instead of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. I'm used to having so much time off its hard to remember its actually Christmas. If I was in my "old" job now, today would be my last day, and it would be a half day at that I imagine, instead i'm working both jobs til late in the evening.
Lazia was pretty busy, probably because it was lots of people's last day at work, so the time flew and it was fun. I got to make some desserts and coffees but spent a lot of time taking finished plates back to the kitchen to try and help out the servers. usually the last half hour is pretty slow, but not this time. I was even given a mop as it was starting to get very mucky.
just as I finished and ordered my lunch, one of the servers needed me to help move some plates around so the boss agreed to pay me an extra 15 minutes. after maybe 9 minutes I gave up and ate my lunch as it had been sitting waiting for me a few minutes and I couldn't resist, but I knew I still needed to make a dessert for one of the servers so thought I'd do that after i'd eaten and that would make it up to 15 minutes. I boxed up most of my nasi goring in the end, to eat when I get to the store, and started making the crème brulee I had promised (not making of course, just doing the burnt sugar and decorating - I get to play with fire!). There was only Tamara left hostessing, and usually its pretty quiet but she was actually rushing around a lot, then a big order of desserts came in, so as I was hanging about there I gave her a bit of a hand. seems silly not to.
I did eventually get out of the restaurant, popped into the dollar store for a few things I needed, but got stuck in a long line of last-minute shoppers waiting to pay. I didn't mind, as I was still going to get to work really early, but trying to rush home and back again didn't really work. I had almost an hour to eat the remains of my food, get changed, mess about on my phone and read some magazine articles before starting my shift. There were a steady stream of customers and things to do, so again the time flew. Doug turned up with stitches in his face and a big swollen hamster cheek as he'd been hit in the face by a hockey stick while refereeing. he's usually pretty cheerful, but he said it hurts to laugh and he cursed anyone who told a joke.
The run clinic that night had all bought home made cookies and cup cakes, I only managed to pop over and grab one rather than trying lots as customers kept coming in all evening, but it was a mint choc chip cupcake and it was very yummy. They left a box for staff to eat tomorrow too, which was nice. then some very chatty customers arrived in the store to look at socks. they kept chatting to each of us for ages and it was hard to get away. after they had been in the store for ages, they left without buying anything just as we were closing. Apparently it was a very profitable day for the company and we finally got away at about 9:45.
I had to pop to safeway for a few things, then when I got home I started making my Christmas cardie, but I ran out of safety pins and it looks pretty terrible so maybe I will just be too ashamed to wear it anyway. i'll have another look in the morning and maybe try and find some more pins.
late night and early start back at the running room again!
Lazia was pretty busy, probably because it was lots of people's last day at work, so the time flew and it was fun. I got to make some desserts and coffees but spent a lot of time taking finished plates back to the kitchen to try and help out the servers. usually the last half hour is pretty slow, but not this time. I was even given a mop as it was starting to get very mucky.
just as I finished and ordered my lunch, one of the servers needed me to help move some plates around so the boss agreed to pay me an extra 15 minutes. after maybe 9 minutes I gave up and ate my lunch as it had been sitting waiting for me a few minutes and I couldn't resist, but I knew I still needed to make a dessert for one of the servers so thought I'd do that after i'd eaten and that would make it up to 15 minutes. I boxed up most of my nasi goring in the end, to eat when I get to the store, and started making the crème brulee I had promised (not making of course, just doing the burnt sugar and decorating - I get to play with fire!). There was only Tamara left hostessing, and usually its pretty quiet but she was actually rushing around a lot, then a big order of desserts came in, so as I was hanging about there I gave her a bit of a hand. seems silly not to.
I did eventually get out of the restaurant, popped into the dollar store for a few things I needed, but got stuck in a long line of last-minute shoppers waiting to pay. I didn't mind, as I was still going to get to work really early, but trying to rush home and back again didn't really work. I had almost an hour to eat the remains of my food, get changed, mess about on my phone and read some magazine articles before starting my shift. There were a steady stream of customers and things to do, so again the time flew. Doug turned up with stitches in his face and a big swollen hamster cheek as he'd been hit in the face by a hockey stick while refereeing. he's usually pretty cheerful, but he said it hurts to laugh and he cursed anyone who told a joke.
The run clinic that night had all bought home made cookies and cup cakes, I only managed to pop over and grab one rather than trying lots as customers kept coming in all evening, but it was a mint choc chip cupcake and it was very yummy. They left a box for staff to eat tomorrow too, which was nice. then some very chatty customers arrived in the store to look at socks. they kept chatting to each of us for ages and it was hard to get away. after they had been in the store for ages, they left without buying anything just as we were closing. Apparently it was a very profitable day for the company and we finally got away at about 9:45.
I had to pop to safeway for a few things, then when I got home I started making my Christmas cardie, but I ran out of safety pins and it looks pretty terrible so maybe I will just be too ashamed to wear it anyway. i'll have another look in the morning and maybe try and find some more pins.
late night and early start back at the running room again!
Day112: sort-of festive... there are dwarves
Today I had to be up fairly early by current standards to start at Lazia at 10:00. It feels like I haven't been here in ages but it is a welcome change from the Running Room. I've only worked a sunday once before, and that was Thanksgiving weekend so no idea what this would be like. There were only four of us working front of house, but it was mostly pretty slow. I hadn't realised I would be working a longer shift than normal and was planning on buying my snow boots after work, so instead I had to rush over and buy them in my half hour break. I had also forgotten my sandwich so had to buy one instead and eat it quickly while getting my snow boots. my feet have been quite cold the last few days so hopefully these boots will make all the difference.
My plans for the rest of the day kept changing during the day. When I finished at 3:30, I ended up catching the LRT north to meet Fabio and go to the cinema. They only had a few seats left, in the front row, and not together, so we bought tickets for the next showing instead. This meant we had an hour to go and get some food before the film, but it would finish later.
it seems like the cinema costs in Canada are the same regardless of whether its 2D or 3D or whatever. I might be wrong as its all been free through Scotiabank so far but I think so.
Watching the Hobbit feels like a Christmas tradition but after the late night yesterday and trouble sleeping due to my cold, I struggled to stay awake through the whole film. It felt long, and it felt like a part two of three, but I did still enjoy it.
I had been intending to go and meet Lazia people in the karaoke bar. watching Christmas karaoke seemed like it would get me in a festive mood, but it was gone 9pm when I got home and I realised I needed to do laundry so decided to say "bah humbug" to it instead.
Day 111: Oilers!!
I managed to find the farmer's market this morning. its not quite how I expected at all. there were a lot of craft stalls and people selling things like hummus and salsa and there were also musicians and balloon animals. I met Steve there for some brunch, a bacon and egg sandwich, cinnamon roll and tea, all for $10 and we could sit upstairs and watch the market while we ate. It was a flying visit but at least I got a chance to go.
Next I walked to the running room for my shift there. I made the same mistake again and didn't put my ice spikes back over my shoes so I walked very carefully over the roads where it was icy and managed not to fall over.
a friend had managed to get tickets to the Oilers game tonight (from a season ticket holder who couldn't go) but the game starts at 8 and I work til 8:30. As its such short notice, and not an emergency, I thought there would be no chance of leaving early but then Andie offered to come back to cover the last hour for me. She would finish her shift, go home for a meal and to do some baking then come back! As people have been telling me that not going to a hockey game invalidates my visa, I was very very grateful.
It was reasonably busy in the store, but not overwhelming so I was happy in the back room marking down the prices of sale shoes, then the last couple of hours went really slow. Its possible people didn't know we would be open late or that everybody is at Christmas parties as its the last Saturday before Christmas. it did mean I was extra glad to be leaving early.
So, at 7:30 I met my friend and we went to the LRT and finally, after nearly four months I get to go to a hockey game!
even with leaving work early, we still arrived after the game had started and found our seats with a little bit of the first period left. The oilers were already losing, but I'd been told they were playing a really good team so unlikely to win.
The seats were in the top tier, but it was still fairly close and meant to you could look down at the game and get a good idea of what was going on. I tried to get a few of the rules in my head but its fast so hard to follow.
The plan was to go down to the second tier for the next period, just after it starts so we know which seats are empty. we also had some free drinks tokens as part of the ticket deal so went to the bar as well. When I went to the rodeo in this arena I was sat at the second tier. Its pretty close, but for the third period we wanted to get into the first tier, where the tickets cost $300! I have spoken to quite a few people who get cheaper tickets, but move down and sit closer in empty seats, sometimes for the whole game so it seems to be standard practice, and nice to compare the views. We snuck into the bar reserved for people with the $300 tickets in the break as my friend knew the girl checking tickets. I spoke to some guys who had got their tickets free from work and I started wondering whether anyone actually pays the ticket price for their seats.
When the third period started, we found some seats about three rows back! every time anyone crashed into the edge, you could see their face get squished, we were so close! however, this did mean you couldn't tell what was going on as much (which didn't seem to matter as what was going on was the Oilers failing to score even once and generally sucking). There were quite a few free seats appearing as fans left in disgust. One guy threw his beer bottle onto the ice before he left. I was enjoying myself though, I don't care if they win or lose, and maybe I can go to another game as the season is only half way through.
I think the final score was 6-0 but we snuck out when there was a minute or two left on the clock and went across the road to a bar to wait until it emptied enough to be able to catch a taxi back. With the clock stopping all the time, three 20 minute periods still went on until past 10:30, so you do get your money's worth.
Its taken quite a long time, but finally I have been to a hockey game, and the Oilers no less! That's a pretty big thing to tick off the imaginary list.
Next I walked to the running room for my shift there. I made the same mistake again and didn't put my ice spikes back over my shoes so I walked very carefully over the roads where it was icy and managed not to fall over.
a friend had managed to get tickets to the Oilers game tonight (from a season ticket holder who couldn't go) but the game starts at 8 and I work til 8:30. As its such short notice, and not an emergency, I thought there would be no chance of leaving early but then Andie offered to come back to cover the last hour for me. She would finish her shift, go home for a meal and to do some baking then come back! As people have been telling me that not going to a hockey game invalidates my visa, I was very very grateful.
It was reasonably busy in the store, but not overwhelming so I was happy in the back room marking down the prices of sale shoes, then the last couple of hours went really slow. Its possible people didn't know we would be open late or that everybody is at Christmas parties as its the last Saturday before Christmas. it did mean I was extra glad to be leaving early.
So, at 7:30 I met my friend and we went to the LRT and finally, after nearly four months I get to go to a hockey game!
even with leaving work early, we still arrived after the game had started and found our seats with a little bit of the first period left. The oilers were already losing, but I'd been told they were playing a really good team so unlikely to win.
The seats were in the top tier, but it was still fairly close and meant to you could look down at the game and get a good idea of what was going on. I tried to get a few of the rules in my head but its fast so hard to follow.
The plan was to go down to the second tier for the next period, just after it starts so we know which seats are empty. we also had some free drinks tokens as part of the ticket deal so went to the bar as well. When I went to the rodeo in this arena I was sat at the second tier. Its pretty close, but for the third period we wanted to get into the first tier, where the tickets cost $300! I have spoken to quite a few people who get cheaper tickets, but move down and sit closer in empty seats, sometimes for the whole game so it seems to be standard practice, and nice to compare the views. We snuck into the bar reserved for people with the $300 tickets in the break as my friend knew the girl checking tickets. I spoke to some guys who had got their tickets free from work and I started wondering whether anyone actually pays the ticket price for their seats.
When the third period started, we found some seats about three rows back! every time anyone crashed into the edge, you could see their face get squished, we were so close! however, this did mean you couldn't tell what was going on as much (which didn't seem to matter as what was going on was the Oilers failing to score even once and generally sucking). There were quite a few free seats appearing as fans left in disgust. One guy threw his beer bottle onto the ice before he left. I was enjoying myself though, I don't care if they win or lose, and maybe I can go to another game as the season is only half way through.
I think the final score was 6-0 but we snuck out when there was a minute or two left on the clock and went across the road to a bar to wait until it emptied enough to be able to catch a taxi back. With the clock stopping all the time, three 20 minute periods still went on until past 10:30, so you do get your money's worth.
Its taken quite a long time, but finally I have been to a hockey game, and the Oilers no less! That's a pretty big thing to tick off the imaginary list.
Friday, 20 December 2013
Day 110: my only day off
my cold and my fear of oversleeping kept waking me up, so I ended up getting up a little bit before my alarm was due to go off, feeling full of cold and confusion. I had some hot cereal for breakfast, followed by a hot shower and started feeling a little bit more normal.
I had a job interview to go to at 10am somewhere near the university and found the place just in time. I met Susana, who is from Chile and she offered me a job! Its not ideal hours, as its three evenings a week, 3-10:30, but its closer than Lazia, better paid and more hours. Maybe something more daytimey will come up after I start. I will meet her to officially sort out documents on 3rd January (as the place closes during university holidays), then I will be working for the mighty Starbucks. This is what my life has become.
After this, I went to find the actual outlet where I would be working and bought a cake and a cup of tea there, then wandered across to the sports centre to find out what classes etc. I could do. on the way there I slipped on some ice and landed on my bum really hard. oww.
now that I have information, hopefully I can start being much healthier again in the new year...
I needed to go to the shops on Whyte ave, then head home to change out of interview clothes and get lunch before my friend came to take me to the supermarket for Christmas dinner stuff. He got caught up so I started tidying up my room and trying to sort things out. Being on my own at home with a cold started making me feel much more miserable and wallowy. I had been feeling pretty cheerful all things considered, with the job offer and potential exercise balancing out the sore bum and snotty nose, but I started considering cancelling the Christmas dinner and just staying in by myself. by the time I got picked up, it was rush hour and it took ages to get to the store, then it took ages to find things and make decisions, but it really helped cheer me up being outside and with company.
He invited me round his place for a dinner party, so all my purchases were shoved in his fridge or the snow outside temporarily and four of us started chopping and grinding things to make a biryani. Despite washing my hands twice, I still ended up with chilli in my eye! The finished dish was a masterpiece. it was a little bit spicy but that suited me as it helped my cold. there were five of us in the end and after we'd finished, there was pumpkin pie for afters. It was a great evening, and a million times better than staying in and feeling sorry for myself. Two of them were going out afterwards so I got a lift home with Steve, via borrowing a couple of board games for Christmas.
I have decided to try and take advantage of my later-than-normal start time tomorrow by planning to go to see the farmers' market nearby. Working every Saturday I have never been able to go before.
All in all, I've got lots of things done, hung out with some friends, and made the most of my day off, despite a few hindrances.
I get a day off on 25th, but have to prepare a feast and host a gathering, then my next day off will be sometime in January. no rest for the wicked.
I had a job interview to go to at 10am somewhere near the university and found the place just in time. I met Susana, who is from Chile and she offered me a job! Its not ideal hours, as its three evenings a week, 3-10:30, but its closer than Lazia, better paid and more hours. Maybe something more daytimey will come up after I start. I will meet her to officially sort out documents on 3rd January (as the place closes during university holidays), then I will be working for the mighty Starbucks. This is what my life has become.
After this, I went to find the actual outlet where I would be working and bought a cake and a cup of tea there, then wandered across to the sports centre to find out what classes etc. I could do. on the way there I slipped on some ice and landed on my bum really hard. oww.
now that I have information, hopefully I can start being much healthier again in the new year...
I needed to go to the shops on Whyte ave, then head home to change out of interview clothes and get lunch before my friend came to take me to the supermarket for Christmas dinner stuff. He got caught up so I started tidying up my room and trying to sort things out. Being on my own at home with a cold started making me feel much more miserable and wallowy. I had been feeling pretty cheerful all things considered, with the job offer and potential exercise balancing out the sore bum and snotty nose, but I started considering cancelling the Christmas dinner and just staying in by myself. by the time I got picked up, it was rush hour and it took ages to get to the store, then it took ages to find things and make decisions, but it really helped cheer me up being outside and with company.
He invited me round his place for a dinner party, so all my purchases were shoved in his fridge or the snow outside temporarily and four of us started chopping and grinding things to make a biryani. Despite washing my hands twice, I still ended up with chilli in my eye! The finished dish was a masterpiece. it was a little bit spicy but that suited me as it helped my cold. there were five of us in the end and after we'd finished, there was pumpkin pie for afters. It was a great evening, and a million times better than staying in and feeling sorry for myself. Two of them were going out afterwards so I got a lift home with Steve, via borrowing a couple of board games for Christmas.
I have decided to try and take advantage of my later-than-normal start time tomorrow by planning to go to see the farmers' market nearby. Working every Saturday I have never been able to go before.
All in all, I've got lots of things done, hung out with some friends, and made the most of my day off, despite a few hindrances.
I get a day off on 25th, but have to prepare a feast and host a gathering, then my next day off will be sometime in January. no rest for the wicked.
Thursday, 19 December 2013
Day 109: At 109 street
I managed to get up when my alarm went off, but had so many issues getting ready as I was struggling with this cold that I ended up leaving for work quite late. As I was already late and felt pretty crappy, I thought I may as well stop and buy drugs on the way so at least I would feel better. By the time I got to work and got changed I was probably half an hour late, then I got to take some cold tablets and munch some halls and fishermen's friends.
There was lots to do and it was also fairly busy with customers and phone calls. on my lunch break I added my new top from yesterday to my outfit as its cold in the staff room, and after i'd eaten I went to buy a hot chocolate as it was great medicine yesterday.
while going around marking down prices, I noticed one t-shirt reduced to $20, so $10 after staff discount and decided to buy it. that's one hour's worth of work but really cheap!
my original plan had been to rush home from work, change, and run to the meet point for the Candy Cane Lane run, but I felt like this might be a bad idea with my cold. The backup plan was the usual CS meetup, but in the end I decided to wash my hair and do laundry. I also bought some cake on the way home as comfort food.
After I finished my dinner, I went to get my cake and it turns out that Oscar had found it and helped himself! I was very annoyed at him, but cut off the sections he had nibbled and ate the rest as cake was necessary. I decided not to speak to him for a bit, but I forgave him before the end of the evening. I can't stay mad.
There was lots to do and it was also fairly busy with customers and phone calls. on my lunch break I added my new top from yesterday to my outfit as its cold in the staff room, and after i'd eaten I went to buy a hot chocolate as it was great medicine yesterday.
while going around marking down prices, I noticed one t-shirt reduced to $20, so $10 after staff discount and decided to buy it. that's one hour's worth of work but really cheap!
my original plan had been to rush home from work, change, and run to the meet point for the Candy Cane Lane run, but I felt like this might be a bad idea with my cold. The backup plan was the usual CS meetup, but in the end I decided to wash my hair and do laundry. I also bought some cake on the way home as comfort food.
After I finished my dinner, I went to get my cake and it turns out that Oscar had found it and helped himself! I was very annoyed at him, but cut off the sections he had nibbled and ate the rest as cake was necessary. I decided not to speak to him for a bit, but I forgave him before the end of the evening. I can't stay mad.
Wednesday, 18 December 2013
Day 108: uh oh, getting a cold
again I was working 1:30-9:30 today, but this time my plans for the morning involved leaving the house. What I like about starting late is that I can make more interesting breakfasts rather than just cereal, but I always get caught up in things I need to do and end up running late. I was determined not to today.
I had a plan of action... which failed straight away as I missed the bus I was aiming at. I quickly came up with a back-up plan (the reverse of the original plan) and dropped off an application form I had filled in, wandered along and handed in a couple more resumes where there were signs and eventually made it to the store I had bought snow boots. I picked up a few bits I needed to buy and returned the boots, then managed to find the bus stop home straight away and in plenty of time. Success restored! I had even managed to speak to the lady about the potential job and arranged an interview for Friday. no idea what I will wear if it stays this cold.
I had plenty of time now to get some lunch, get changed and get to work on time. It was pretty busy so I had very little hope of going running, however, one of the packages of new stock we had to put out was the exact pullover I have been waiting on. I wasn't sure whether to buy small or medium but we never had small in stock, now I had one in my hand so quickly tried it on. Unfortunately, two guys then came in looking for shoes so I had to help them, while still wearing the jumper and wait til afterwards to compare to medium. I was also really feeling a cold starting.
I decided to buy the medium and also decided to wear the Christmassy antlers to see if the bells would help me feel better about my cold, which they did! I kept the pullover on while paying for it as its lovely and warm and cosy.
It occurred to me that it might be OK that I didn't go running as people started returning with frozen eyelashes and beards. and no-one turned up for the Christmas run but I found out there is another one tomorrow, so if I can work out the logistics i'll still get to go.
Nobody could remember the radio station for the Christmas music, so today we had a nice break with some 60s, 70s, 80s pop. As the store was closing I was still feeling really cold so suggested going to buy everyone hot chocolates. This suggestion went down well so I got all wrapped up and popped out. back in the store with all my outdoor clothes on and a hot chocolate, I started to feel like I was thawing out and a bit more normal. hopefully my body will fight off this cold and it won't last too long.
After all these late shifts I am not looking forward to tomorrow's early start.
I had a plan of action... which failed straight away as I missed the bus I was aiming at. I quickly came up with a back-up plan (the reverse of the original plan) and dropped off an application form I had filled in, wandered along and handed in a couple more resumes where there were signs and eventually made it to the store I had bought snow boots. I picked up a few bits I needed to buy and returned the boots, then managed to find the bus stop home straight away and in plenty of time. Success restored! I had even managed to speak to the lady about the potential job and arranged an interview for Friday. no idea what I will wear if it stays this cold.
I had plenty of time now to get some lunch, get changed and get to work on time. It was pretty busy so I had very little hope of going running, however, one of the packages of new stock we had to put out was the exact pullover I have been waiting on. I wasn't sure whether to buy small or medium but we never had small in stock, now I had one in my hand so quickly tried it on. Unfortunately, two guys then came in looking for shoes so I had to help them, while still wearing the jumper and wait til afterwards to compare to medium. I was also really feeling a cold starting.
I decided to buy the medium and also decided to wear the Christmassy antlers to see if the bells would help me feel better about my cold, which they did! I kept the pullover on while paying for it as its lovely and warm and cosy.
It occurred to me that it might be OK that I didn't go running as people started returning with frozen eyelashes and beards. and no-one turned up for the Christmas run but I found out there is another one tomorrow, so if I can work out the logistics i'll still get to go.
Nobody could remember the radio station for the Christmas music, so today we had a nice break with some 60s, 70s, 80s pop. As the store was closing I was still feeling really cold so suggested going to buy everyone hot chocolates. This suggestion went down well so I got all wrapped up and popped out. back in the store with all my outdoor clothes on and a hot chocolate, I started to feel like I was thawing out and a bit more normal. hopefully my body will fight off this cold and it won't last too long.
After all these late shifts I am not looking forward to tomorrow's early start.
Day 107: more Running Room
Luckily, I wasn't starting work until 1:30 today, so I had the morning to try and catch up on some housework, some planning and some internet faffing. I have now added photos to the Cambodia posts if anyone wants to go look. Also, I have found a few other people with nowhere to go for Christmas and invited them round for dinner.
On my way to work I got a phone call from a friend with a possible link to a new job. he texted me a phone number, which I can call tomorrow to find out a bit more.
It is definitely getting busier in the shop, but the continuous Christmas music is starting to drive me mad. I realised I had volunteered to work Wednesday if needed as I could do with the cash, but forgot that I really wanted to go to run club. I asked whether there was any chance of going and the manager said to bring my kit but unlikely. Its a Christmas special so I didn't want to miss it.
I bought a few pairs of socks that will be good for winter running. They were on sale and with my staff discount as well they were pretty cheap.
Its very strange to think how close Christmas is. I'm too busy really to think about it. I'm not going to really get a break from work at all (this Friday and Christmas day are the only two days I get off over the next couple of weeks) and I don't have any of the "usual" Christmas build-up.
On my way to work I got a phone call from a friend with a possible link to a new job. he texted me a phone number, which I can call tomorrow to find out a bit more.
It is definitely getting busier in the shop, but the continuous Christmas music is starting to drive me mad. I realised I had volunteered to work Wednesday if needed as I could do with the cash, but forgot that I really wanted to go to run club. I asked whether there was any chance of going and the manager said to bring my kit but unlikely. Its a Christmas special so I didn't want to miss it.
I bought a few pairs of socks that will be good for winter running. They were on sale and with my staff discount as well they were pretty cheap.
Its very strange to think how close Christmas is. I'm too busy really to think about it. I'm not going to really get a break from work at all (this Friday and Christmas day are the only two days I get off over the next couple of weeks) and I don't have any of the "usual" Christmas build-up.
Tuesday, 17 December 2013
Day 106: snow boots indecisiveness
As I was starting work at Lazia at 11, this gave me some faffing time in the morning, which was nice.
It was another fairly busy day at Lazia with some big parties but a fair amount of mopping as its pretty slushy outside and we are right near the main entrance.
After I finished, I bought a quick sandwich and headed to Sport Chek, who I had called this morning to put some snow boots on hold for me. I had taken the ones I bought last week with me to compare directly. it took me a while of marching around in the shop but I think I will return them and buy these ones instead. The guy in the store said that the boots would go on sale on Saturday, which would mean they are only about $15 more than the cheap ones I bought so he promised to "hide" them so I can come and buy them on Sunday for the cheaper price.
They are shorter, and may rub a bit on my ankles, but seem to fit my feet better. Plus they are made by North Face so maybe a bit more reliable.
Next I caught the bus back over the river so that I could get some grocery shopping done. By the time I got home, I only had half an hour until I had to go back out again for work. Just about enough time to cram some food in me, get changed and go.
At the Running Room, there are usually just three of us working on Monday night, and I found out that Rachel has cut her hand, possibly quite badly, so isn't working. I like when things are hectic and the time definitely flew by, but luckily it wasn't too busy or it could have been a disaster. This meant we could start cleaning the store in plenty of time before it closed and get away on time still at 9:30. I keep ending up with Christmas songs stuck in my head after a shift at the store, which is both festive and annoying.
Instead of going straight home, I popped into the liquor store and then a friends house for a bit of a chat. usually i'd be working Tuesday morning but because of the extended opening hours, i'm not starting until 1:30 so staying up until beyond midnight isn't so bad.
It was another fairly busy day at Lazia with some big parties but a fair amount of mopping as its pretty slushy outside and we are right near the main entrance.
After I finished, I bought a quick sandwich and headed to Sport Chek, who I had called this morning to put some snow boots on hold for me. I had taken the ones I bought last week with me to compare directly. it took me a while of marching around in the shop but I think I will return them and buy these ones instead. The guy in the store said that the boots would go on sale on Saturday, which would mean they are only about $15 more than the cheap ones I bought so he promised to "hide" them so I can come and buy them on Sunday for the cheaper price.
They are shorter, and may rub a bit on my ankles, but seem to fit my feet better. Plus they are made by North Face so maybe a bit more reliable.
Next I caught the bus back over the river so that I could get some grocery shopping done. By the time I got home, I only had half an hour until I had to go back out again for work. Just about enough time to cram some food in me, get changed and go.
At the Running Room, there are usually just three of us working on Monday night, and I found out that Rachel has cut her hand, possibly quite badly, so isn't working. I like when things are hectic and the time definitely flew by, but luckily it wasn't too busy or it could have been a disaster. This meant we could start cleaning the store in plenty of time before it closed and get away on time still at 9:30. I keep ending up with Christmas songs stuck in my head after a shift at the store, which is both festive and annoying.
Instead of going straight home, I popped into the liquor store and then a friends house for a bit of a chat. usually i'd be working Tuesday morning but because of the extended opening hours, i'm not starting until 1:30 so staying up until beyond midnight isn't so bad.
Monday, 16 December 2013
Day 105: We're going to the zoo!
I stayed in bed til quite late and didn't feel like doing very much, so I set some laundry off and ticked off a few things I needed to do on the internet, but then suddenly the internet stopped working!
Faced with that, I texted a few people I knew to see if anyone wanted to hang out and managed to meet up with Fabio for some food and a catch up on what i'd missed while I was on holiday.
There is a special event on at the zoo this weekend, so at around 5pm, we were joined by a couple more friends, Fabio went home and the rest of us went to the zoo!
it was only $5 to get in the zoo but there wasn't too much going on. They had a giant mirror ball and some Christmassy lights, which was possibly the highlight. One section was set up as a rocky wander with a cave, but we saw so many people slip over there. The combination of snow, rocks and bright lights seemed a bit of a health and safety nightmare.
There were a few zoo members wandering around with some of the animals, like the reindeer and some of the cages were lit up, like the arctic foxes, then we found the line of people waiting for pizza and hot chocolate. As it was free, we decided to join them! we queued for quite a while and thought about giving up when a sign appeared saying they were out of pizza, but luckily we decided to stay and found out the sign was a lie and they had lots of pizza left. There was an ice rink, but you needed to bring your own skates, so instead we watched a fire show with poi and hula hoops, spied on some sleepy lemurs, then we had run out of things to do.
To add to the festive feeling, on the drive back we stopped at a house that has got very carried away with its Christmas lights. It makes the tacky Earlsdon Avenue North houses look... more tacky. They had a giant snowman the size of the house and so many different sections you could wander round. it was insanely festive.
I got dropped at a pub instead of home and was intending to just stay for a couple of hours, but we started playing pool and putting lots of money in the juke box, and suddenly it was midnight and they were throwing us out. I was obviously having lots of fun so time flew but I do feel like i'm having too much fun at the moment and not enough sleep.
Faced with that, I texted a few people I knew to see if anyone wanted to hang out and managed to meet up with Fabio for some food and a catch up on what i'd missed while I was on holiday.
There is a special event on at the zoo this weekend, so at around 5pm, we were joined by a couple more friends, Fabio went home and the rest of us went to the zoo!
it was only $5 to get in the zoo but there wasn't too much going on. They had a giant mirror ball and some Christmassy lights, which was possibly the highlight. One section was set up as a rocky wander with a cave, but we saw so many people slip over there. The combination of snow, rocks and bright lights seemed a bit of a health and safety nightmare.
There were a few zoo members wandering around with some of the animals, like the reindeer and some of the cages were lit up, like the arctic foxes, then we found the line of people waiting for pizza and hot chocolate. As it was free, we decided to join them! we queued for quite a while and thought about giving up when a sign appeared saying they were out of pizza, but luckily we decided to stay and found out the sign was a lie and they had lots of pizza left. There was an ice rink, but you needed to bring your own skates, so instead we watched a fire show with poi and hula hoops, spied on some sleepy lemurs, then we had run out of things to do.
To add to the festive feeling, on the drive back we stopped at a house that has got very carried away with its Christmas lights. It makes the tacky Earlsdon Avenue North houses look... more tacky. They had a giant snowman the size of the house and so many different sections you could wander round. it was insanely festive.
I got dropped at a pub instead of home and was intending to just stay for a couple of hours, but we started playing pool and putting lots of money in the juke box, and suddenly it was midnight and they were throwing us out. I was obviously having lots of fun so time flew but I do feel like i'm having too much fun at the moment and not enough sleep.
Sunday, 15 December 2013
Day 104: Christmas shopping hours
As the store is open later this weekend, I was starting work at 12 instead of 9:30, which gave me the morning to faff about, wash my hair, and other stuff. it was reasonably busy and quite often I was trying to do three things at once, but customers came in clusters so there were gaps with no-one in the shop at all. I decided to go around checking everything had security tags on and found quite a few without. this kept me busy.
on my lunch break I popped out to one of the restaurants nearby to hand in a resume, but the most exciting bit of the shift was finding out the free stuff I had won from Brookes had arrived! Unfortunately, the jacket is pink and even brighter pink, but free nonetheless. The new shoes will be the most useful.
I got home at about 9pm and couldn't resist trying on my free stuff straight away. I also had some laundry to sort out but I wanted to get ready as quickly as possible to get to a party.
the party was nearby and hosted by some couchsurfing people who I hadn't met before, in fact there were only about four people there that I knew, but they had lots of interesting homemade food. I drank some wine, chatted and danced a bit and I think it was pretty late by the time I got home.
I have also started planning Christmas a little bit. So far there are two people who would like to share Christmas dinner at my house so it should be good.
on my lunch break I popped out to one of the restaurants nearby to hand in a resume, but the most exciting bit of the shift was finding out the free stuff I had won from Brookes had arrived! Unfortunately, the jacket is pink and even brighter pink, but free nonetheless. The new shoes will be the most useful.
I got home at about 9pm and couldn't resist trying on my free stuff straight away. I also had some laundry to sort out but I wanted to get ready as quickly as possible to get to a party.
the party was nearby and hosted by some couchsurfing people who I hadn't met before, in fact there were only about four people there that I knew, but they had lots of interesting homemade food. I drank some wine, chatted and danced a bit and I think it was pretty late by the time I got home.
I have also started planning Christmas a little bit. So far there are two people who would like to share Christmas dinner at my house so it should be good.
Day 103: walking in a winter wonderland
As I wasn't working until 5:30pm, I had the whole day to look for new potential employers and shop for snowboots. not many people had cleared their paths yet so it was hard going, but beautiful.
I found a few places fairly close to home that I didn't even know were there. most places I went in said they weren't hiring right now but would be in January. I stopped for some Poutine quite early and then carried on with my quest. Eventually I made it to Whyte ave and the cheap Army and Navy store, where I found some snow boots with a tag guaranteeing -30C for $50. they have an annoying amount of laces so they take a really long time to get on, but it means they are more adjustable. I may compare them to some others before wearing them outside so I can still return them. I also bought some normal boots that turned out to be $10! Yippee!
I had another break in Remedy Café, so I have now been in three different branches, then got the bus back home and got ready for work.
My shift in Lazia was kinda fun and I made more desserts than ever. it was fairly busy so there was always something to do. I hardly know any of the people who work in the evening so it was a whole new set of names to remember. When I finally finished at beyond 9pm, I ordered the trio of skewers and they were the most delicious meat-on-stick I think I've ever had. I thought I wouldn't like the chicken satay, but it was more like caramelised onions than peanuts, the spicy beef one was yummy and the third was scallops wrapped in bacon.
Once i'd finished really enjoying my food, I walked to my friend's house as he was having a games night. they had been playing a card game, but we just sat around chatting and eating the rest of the evening until it was time to leave and get the train home. A couple of people there I had met before from the trip to Banff but others were new.
I got home at a relatively sensible time, maybe 12:30-1am but started faffing on my computer as I wasn't sleepy at all. I spoke to Rachel online for a bit, and it was lovely to have that contact with someone back home who I miss. Stupid jetlag and distracting internet meant I didn't actually go to sleep til about 3am, but at least I don't need to start work early tomorrow.
I found a few places fairly close to home that I didn't even know were there. most places I went in said they weren't hiring right now but would be in January. I stopped for some Poutine quite early and then carried on with my quest. Eventually I made it to Whyte ave and the cheap Army and Navy store, where I found some snow boots with a tag guaranteeing -30C for $50. they have an annoying amount of laces so they take a really long time to get on, but it means they are more adjustable. I may compare them to some others before wearing them outside so I can still return them. I also bought some normal boots that turned out to be $10! Yippee!
I had another break in Remedy Café, so I have now been in three different branches, then got the bus back home and got ready for work.
My shift in Lazia was kinda fun and I made more desserts than ever. it was fairly busy so there was always something to do. I hardly know any of the people who work in the evening so it was a whole new set of names to remember. When I finally finished at beyond 9pm, I ordered the trio of skewers and they were the most delicious meat-on-stick I think I've ever had. I thought I wouldn't like the chicken satay, but it was more like caramelised onions than peanuts, the spicy beef one was yummy and the third was scallops wrapped in bacon.
Once i'd finished really enjoying my food, I walked to my friend's house as he was having a games night. they had been playing a card game, but we just sat around chatting and eating the rest of the evening until it was time to leave and get the train home. A couple of people there I had met before from the trip to Banff but others were new.
I got home at a relatively sensible time, maybe 12:30-1am but started faffing on my computer as I wasn't sleepy at all. I spoke to Rachel online for a bit, and it was lovely to have that contact with someone back home who I miss. Stupid jetlag and distracting internet meant I didn't actually go to sleep til about 3am, but at least I don't need to start work early tomorrow.
Saturday, 14 December 2013
Day 102: confusion
When I arrived at work Brett was there and he doesn't usually work the same day as me, so I thought I'd got the days mixed up and gone to the wrong place.
Lots of people were ordering things online, which meant we had to go and find things in the store and there were some markdowns to put price stickers on, but other than that it was a reasonably slow day. I spent a fair amount of time just checking that everything had security tags on. I wrote out some Christmas cards in my lunch break, then decided that since the mail box was only at the corner, I'd just pop out without a coat on as it would only be 10 seconds, but that was enough to make me really cold!
At the start of the week I had copied my Lazia schedule out wrong and thought I was working Thursday night, so I had asked to leave half an hour early from the running room, but when I double checked on Wednesday I realised it was actually Friday night. As it was my mistake, and I was so late yesterday, I decided to keep my running room schedule as it was, finishing at 5pm, but work til 5:15 to make up for my lateness.
It snowed for most of the day, and I saw a snow hare in the safeways carpark on my walk home! The walk back out again for the usual Thursday night couchsurfing meet up was a slog through the snow and a bit slippy in places but I got there at about 8:15. There was nobody else there! I went back down to the bar and the barman said "well, they usually meet on Thursday", which he obviously thought was hilarious, but given all the other confusion today I believed him for about 1.5seconds.
I stuck with my money saving "one beer" policy and tried the maple flavoured stout and luckily I only had to wait by myself about 5mins before two new couchsurfers turned up. They were a lovely couple and really interesting to talk to. Eventually three more people came too that I already knew, but that's the smallest group I have seen on a Thursday.
Lots of people were ordering things online, which meant we had to go and find things in the store and there were some markdowns to put price stickers on, but other than that it was a reasonably slow day. I spent a fair amount of time just checking that everything had security tags on. I wrote out some Christmas cards in my lunch break, then decided that since the mail box was only at the corner, I'd just pop out without a coat on as it would only be 10 seconds, but that was enough to make me really cold!
At the start of the week I had copied my Lazia schedule out wrong and thought I was working Thursday night, so I had asked to leave half an hour early from the running room, but when I double checked on Wednesday I realised it was actually Friday night. As it was my mistake, and I was so late yesterday, I decided to keep my running room schedule as it was, finishing at 5pm, but work til 5:15 to make up for my lateness.
It snowed for most of the day, and I saw a snow hare in the safeways carpark on my walk home! The walk back out again for the usual Thursday night couchsurfing meet up was a slog through the snow and a bit slippy in places but I got there at about 8:15. There was nobody else there! I went back down to the bar and the barman said "well, they usually meet on Thursday", which he obviously thought was hilarious, but given all the other confusion today I believed him for about 1.5seconds.
I stuck with my money saving "one beer" policy and tried the maple flavoured stout and luckily I only had to wait by myself about 5mins before two new couchsurfers turned up. They were a lovely couple and really interesting to talk to. Eventually three more people came too that I already knew, but that's the smallest group I have seen on a Thursday.
Friday, 13 December 2013
Day 101: Christmas is coming
I managed to get a few things done at home in the morning before heading to Lazia to cover Monica's shift. I wasn't sure what time I was due to start, so I arrived at 11, greeted Tan with a cheery "good morning", which she didn't even acknowledge, then dropped my bags off and left again to buy some Christmas cards at the shop. I only bought ten so lots of people won't be getting them, but then some people will get something else instead and I doubt any of them will arrive on time now anyway.
I was still early for an 11:30 start, but Michelle seemed flustered so I just started anyway. Even though I wasn't officially starting yet, Tan still barked a few orders at me. I thought she'd forget about whatever I did to offend her while I was on holiday, but clearly she's decided to just not even be subtle anymore. She spent the day telling me things I already knew or asking me to do things I was already doing and just the usual general criticism.
I found out that a booking I had taken when I first arrived back on Monday was a mistake and I shouldn't have taken it, but I took that call before I found out the change in policy over the Christmas busy period. won't be doing it again.
It was a very busy Wednesday, with lots of Christmas parties, so I really enjoyed myself. I even got to make quite a few desserts, which is unusual for a lunchtime.
At the end of my shift, I decided i'd rather get lunch somewhere else so I went to a café i'd seen on Churchill square and bought one dish for now and one to take away for my dinner before crossing the road to the library. It would have been so much cheaper to get something to work, but I think I made the right decision. In the library I printed out a few copies of my resume and looked up addresses for the Christmas cards. Then I went to get the bus over to the Running Room for my shift there. All these things had taken longer than I anticipated, plus there was traffic, so I ended up being a bit late. It felt like a Monday as that's when I usually work both jobs but this is just a one off I think as there were special things going on this evening.
The store looked very festive, with a big Christmas tree, tinsel and decorations round the till, and reindeer ears on the manager's head. Once I started work, he gave a set of reindeer ears to me, which were quite difficult to keep on my head. For this week's run club, the creator and head of the running room, John Stanton himself, would be there to present some giant cheques to a couple of charities. Everybody had been spending the whole day making the store Christmassy and tidying everything in anticipation of this.
The cheques were presented, photos were taken, then everybody, including Mr. Stanton, headed out to their different runs/walks. The store was then relatively quiet but I did sell some shoes, despite the reindeer antlers getting in the way. |Aimee's aunty popped in to pick up the kit I had bought for her with my discount. There was hot chocolate and marshmallows this week and I had three cups of it by the end of the night. I also got to actually meet John Stanton, which was cool. He included all of us in the conversation and seemed like a genuinely nice down to earth guy. We also discussed dressing up for our Christmas eve shifts, maybe in bad Christmas jumpers so I'll have to keep an eye out for one.
It was late when I got home, so I quickly ate the wrap I had bought earlier and headed to bed. I would be back at the running room again all day tomorrow. getting all these extra shifts when I'm poor is great, but I feel like I'm spending too much time there.
I was still early for an 11:30 start, but Michelle seemed flustered so I just started anyway. Even though I wasn't officially starting yet, Tan still barked a few orders at me. I thought she'd forget about whatever I did to offend her while I was on holiday, but clearly she's decided to just not even be subtle anymore. She spent the day telling me things I already knew or asking me to do things I was already doing and just the usual general criticism.
I found out that a booking I had taken when I first arrived back on Monday was a mistake and I shouldn't have taken it, but I took that call before I found out the change in policy over the Christmas busy period. won't be doing it again.
It was a very busy Wednesday, with lots of Christmas parties, so I really enjoyed myself. I even got to make quite a few desserts, which is unusual for a lunchtime.
At the end of my shift, I decided i'd rather get lunch somewhere else so I went to a café i'd seen on Churchill square and bought one dish for now and one to take away for my dinner before crossing the road to the library. It would have been so much cheaper to get something to work, but I think I made the right decision. In the library I printed out a few copies of my resume and looked up addresses for the Christmas cards. Then I went to get the bus over to the Running Room for my shift there. All these things had taken longer than I anticipated, plus there was traffic, so I ended up being a bit late. It felt like a Monday as that's when I usually work both jobs but this is just a one off I think as there were special things going on this evening.
The store looked very festive, with a big Christmas tree, tinsel and decorations round the till, and reindeer ears on the manager's head. Once I started work, he gave a set of reindeer ears to me, which were quite difficult to keep on my head. For this week's run club, the creator and head of the running room, John Stanton himself, would be there to present some giant cheques to a couple of charities. Everybody had been spending the whole day making the store Christmassy and tidying everything in anticipation of this.
The cheques were presented, photos were taken, then everybody, including Mr. Stanton, headed out to their different runs/walks. The store was then relatively quiet but I did sell some shoes, despite the reindeer antlers getting in the way. |Aimee's aunty popped in to pick up the kit I had bought for her with my discount. There was hot chocolate and marshmallows this week and I had three cups of it by the end of the night. I also got to actually meet John Stanton, which was cool. He included all of us in the conversation and seemed like a genuinely nice down to earth guy. We also discussed dressing up for our Christmas eve shifts, maybe in bad Christmas jumpers so I'll have to keep an eye out for one.
It was late when I got home, so I quickly ate the wrap I had bought earlier and headed to bed. I would be back at the running room again all day tomorrow. getting all these extra shifts when I'm poor is great, but I feel like I'm spending too much time there.
Day 100: Just tuesday
I'm writing this so long after it happened that I don't even remember.
I work all day at the Running room on Tuesday, met the new assistant manager, then went home briefly to change before running back there to join the half marathon training group. One of them was a friend of Aimee's from the museum. I possibly wore too many layers, as it had seemed really cold. who knows what it will be like when it gets colder.
I couldn't be bothered to cook anything when I got home as it was already quite late, so shoved a pizza in the oven and made a list of things I need to do tomorrow as I'll actually have a few bits of free time.
I feel like there should have been an exciting story for day 100, but I didn't even know at the time.
I work all day at the Running room on Tuesday, met the new assistant manager, then went home briefly to change before running back there to join the half marathon training group. One of them was a friend of Aimee's from the museum. I possibly wore too many layers, as it had seemed really cold. who knows what it will be like when it gets colder.
I couldn't be bothered to cook anything when I got home as it was already quite late, so shoved a pizza in the oven and made a list of things I need to do tomorrow as I'll actually have a few bits of free time.
I feel like there should have been an exciting story for day 100, but I didn't even know at the time.
Day 99: back to life, back to reality
I woke up at around 7am and thought i'd snooze for an hour until my alarm. the next time I woke up it was 9:45! To get to work on time I need to leave at 10:30, so no time to get groceries now. Argh! However, on the plus side, I had a text on my phone from Roy saying he'd found the key under the sofa cushions. this was such a relief to see, although I was annoyed he hadn't looked there earlier to save us both a lot of stress! I had assumed he'd actually looked for the key properly. still, I felt a lot lighter now and glad I hadn't done anything really stupid. I knew i'd opened the door when we got back from the club, but i'd been doubting myself (as I do). Nonetheless, I didn't have time to dwell on this and had to rush out of the house with no breakfast.
Getting the train across the river was nice, its now nearly all frozen over and snow-covered.
My first shift back at Lazia was mixed. It was nice to see people again, and I don't think I forgot anything major. It was still mostly fun. However, when asked to help run food out, I totally messed up the first plate I took (having only done this once before and never been trained), and the managers had no patience for this and sent me away again, then asked the other hostess instead (who had also only done it once before). I'm sure I would have learnt from my mistake if given a second chance. Apart from that, it was OK. My shifts looked a little different to normal, in fact they looked suspiciously like they were rearranged to avoid contact with Tan, but maybe this was just me being paranoid and it was due to Christmas bookings, but probably not. I agreed to cover one of Monica's shifts, as she was a bit busy and didn't want to work Wednesday whereas I had been expecting to work Wednesday and needed the extra cash.
After work I had to rush (thanks to oversleeping this morning) so picked up a sandwich in subway instead of eating at Lazia and bought some groceries before heading back home on the train. I had to get ready for work at the Running Room that evening. At this point my phone battery was getting low and I realised I didn't know where my charger was. I guess I must have left it in Vancouver! With Smartphone batteries only lasting a couple of days at the most, this is pretty inconvenient.
I quickly ate some pasta, aiming to get to the shop early. Aimee had put a few things on hold under my name as my staff discount is currently expanded to include "Christmas gifts". She had transferred the money to my account as I don't have enough there at the mo.
The same as with Lazia, it was nice to see people, but a relatively quiet evening. I picked up a few more groceries on the way home, faffed a bit at home and watched some telly with my housemates, but mostly got ready for more work tomorrow. I think I will be working almost every day from now on.
Getting the train across the river was nice, its now nearly all frozen over and snow-covered.
My first shift back at Lazia was mixed. It was nice to see people again, and I don't think I forgot anything major. It was still mostly fun. However, when asked to help run food out, I totally messed up the first plate I took (having only done this once before and never been trained), and the managers had no patience for this and sent me away again, then asked the other hostess instead (who had also only done it once before). I'm sure I would have learnt from my mistake if given a second chance. Apart from that, it was OK. My shifts looked a little different to normal, in fact they looked suspiciously like they were rearranged to avoid contact with Tan, but maybe this was just me being paranoid and it was due to Christmas bookings, but probably not. I agreed to cover one of Monica's shifts, as she was a bit busy and didn't want to work Wednesday whereas I had been expecting to work Wednesday and needed the extra cash.
After work I had to rush (thanks to oversleeping this morning) so picked up a sandwich in subway instead of eating at Lazia and bought some groceries before heading back home on the train. I had to get ready for work at the Running Room that evening. At this point my phone battery was getting low and I realised I didn't know where my charger was. I guess I must have left it in Vancouver! With Smartphone batteries only lasting a couple of days at the most, this is pretty inconvenient.
I quickly ate some pasta, aiming to get to the shop early. Aimee had put a few things on hold under my name as my staff discount is currently expanded to include "Christmas gifts". She had transferred the money to my account as I don't have enough there at the mo.
The same as with Lazia, it was nice to see people, but a relatively quiet evening. I picked up a few more groceries on the way home, faffed a bit at home and watched some telly with my housemates, but mostly got ready for more work tomorrow. I think I will be working almost every day from now on.
Wednesday, 11 December 2013
day 98: Back to Edmonton
It was dark when I left Roy's house, but I managed to find a café open and got some breakfast before heading to the train station. We had checked and there were supposed to be trains running, but when I got there it was all locked up. Luckily, there was a replacement bus and the driver gave me a shout when we got near a train station that I could get the sky train from.
I was a bit worried about getting back to Edmonton as everybody I know had been whingeing about the weather on facebook, posting reports of -30C, even -40C with wind chill and I only had my UK winter coat with me. These worries were mostly eradicated by sleepiness, then replaced by other, bigger, worries as Roy was texting to tell me he couldn't find the spare key he'd lent me.
I naturally assumed this was my fault and felt incredibly guilty. I thought maybe I had accidentally dropped the key in my bag and would find it when I got back to Edmonton and have to post it, as well as a whole variety of other ridiculous circumstances. I certainly doubted all my memories. If the key couldn't be found at all, I'd have to send Roy money to get the locks changed, which would be tough on my bank balance, and i'm not sure I could ever apologise enough. I kept my fingers crossed that he would find it in his flat but worried about it whenever my eyes were actually open. Then he sent me a quite upsetting text suggesting I didn't care about his key (people should never jump to conclusions when they are only going on text messages). I guess he doesn't know me well but I hate people thinking bad of me.
It wasn't too cold when I arrived in Edmonton and I survived the bus and train journey, trudged back home with tired, confused and guilt-ridden head, and felt glad to be home. Coming home from a longer trip like this definitely made it feel much more like home now. When I unlocked the door and came in, I could hear Christmassy music, ahh.
Then when I went down to the flat, I realised my housemates were having a tea party with lots of friends of theirs. They sort-of introduced me and said they didn't realise I was coming back today and I felt kinda awkward given I was all exhausted and loaded with bags.
As soon as I was in my room, I tipped out both of my bags and rummaged in every pocket hoping I would find the key, but no luck. Also no reply from Roy saying he'd found it.
I showered, did laundry, made plans for my work Christmas party later that night and decided to just have a bit of a lie down in the dark. Even with no sleeping it might help fix my brain a bit. An hour or so later, I was getting ready (a bit reluctantly) and having another look in my bag in case I picked up the key before but didn't register it in my tiredness. I got to try a couple of the cakes and chocolates from the tea party and say hello to Oscar the cat, who is really getting big now (and is post-op now!) before Steve came to pick me up. I didn't want to go on my own to the party as I wasn't sure who was going. Cecily and Sascha were my first choice, but it was too close to their own trip starting so they weren't free. I'm not sure if i'll get to catch up with them before they leave now.
Steve was good company though, I got to catch up on what i'd been missing in Edmonton (more parties with awesome decorations apparently) and he was as excited about the balloon man as I was! There was free skiing as part of the party, but Steve wasn't too bothered as it was quite a small hill for him so hardly worth it and the snow wasn't as good (very compressed as it hadn't snowed for a while) and I felt like wussing out of the ski lesson and waiting til sometime I wasn't tired and jet lagged. I don't fancy breaking any bones at the mo. I think I was just doubting myself too much given all the stuff happening today. The food was pretty good anyway and we went on the hay ride, which was a bit lame but kinda fun and headed home nice and early.
I set my alarm for a relatively sensible 8am to give me time to do more laundry and sort out everything I need to sort out, including a third look through all my stuff with rested eyes. I'd also need to get some groceries, all before starting my shift at Lazia at 11am.
I was mostly very deep asleep, but definitely had a few dreams, mostly revolving around me losing keys in spectacular and reprehensible ways and generally feeling like a terrible person.
I was a bit worried about getting back to Edmonton as everybody I know had been whingeing about the weather on facebook, posting reports of -30C, even -40C with wind chill and I only had my UK winter coat with me. These worries were mostly eradicated by sleepiness, then replaced by other, bigger, worries as Roy was texting to tell me he couldn't find the spare key he'd lent me.
I naturally assumed this was my fault and felt incredibly guilty. I thought maybe I had accidentally dropped the key in my bag and would find it when I got back to Edmonton and have to post it, as well as a whole variety of other ridiculous circumstances. I certainly doubted all my memories. If the key couldn't be found at all, I'd have to send Roy money to get the locks changed, which would be tough on my bank balance, and i'm not sure I could ever apologise enough. I kept my fingers crossed that he would find it in his flat but worried about it whenever my eyes were actually open. Then he sent me a quite upsetting text suggesting I didn't care about his key (people should never jump to conclusions when they are only going on text messages). I guess he doesn't know me well but I hate people thinking bad of me.
It wasn't too cold when I arrived in Edmonton and I survived the bus and train journey, trudged back home with tired, confused and guilt-ridden head, and felt glad to be home. Coming home from a longer trip like this definitely made it feel much more like home now. When I unlocked the door and came in, I could hear Christmassy music, ahh.
Then when I went down to the flat, I realised my housemates were having a tea party with lots of friends of theirs. They sort-of introduced me and said they didn't realise I was coming back today and I felt kinda awkward given I was all exhausted and loaded with bags.
As soon as I was in my room, I tipped out both of my bags and rummaged in every pocket hoping I would find the key, but no luck. Also no reply from Roy saying he'd found it.
I showered, did laundry, made plans for my work Christmas party later that night and decided to just have a bit of a lie down in the dark. Even with no sleeping it might help fix my brain a bit. An hour or so later, I was getting ready (a bit reluctantly) and having another look in my bag in case I picked up the key before but didn't register it in my tiredness. I got to try a couple of the cakes and chocolates from the tea party and say hello to Oscar the cat, who is really getting big now (and is post-op now!) before Steve came to pick me up. I didn't want to go on my own to the party as I wasn't sure who was going. Cecily and Sascha were my first choice, but it was too close to their own trip starting so they weren't free. I'm not sure if i'll get to catch up with them before they leave now.
Steve was good company though, I got to catch up on what i'd been missing in Edmonton (more parties with awesome decorations apparently) and he was as excited about the balloon man as I was! There was free skiing as part of the party, but Steve wasn't too bothered as it was quite a small hill for him so hardly worth it and the snow wasn't as good (very compressed as it hadn't snowed for a while) and I felt like wussing out of the ski lesson and waiting til sometime I wasn't tired and jet lagged. I don't fancy breaking any bones at the mo. I think I was just doubting myself too much given all the stuff happening today. The food was pretty good anyway and we went on the hay ride, which was a bit lame but kinda fun and headed home nice and early.
I set my alarm for a relatively sensible 8am to give me time to do more laundry and sort out everything I need to sort out, including a third look through all my stuff with rested eyes. I'd also need to get some groceries, all before starting my shift at Lazia at 11am.
I was mostly very deep asleep, but definitely had a few dreams, mostly revolving around me losing keys in spectacular and reprehensible ways and generally feeling like a terrible person.
Day 97: Park life
I didn't get up quite as early this time, and now its Saturday neither did Roy, so we went together to have breakfast in one of his favourite bars nearby. It was full of geeky sci-fi memorabilia and they had board games. I had a boozy coffee with my breakfast because that way I got a free souvenir mug!
Roy went to look after Arthur, who has food poisoning now and I set off to Stanley park via the train and seawall walk. The walk to the park took longer than I thought. Partly because there were plaques to read on the way, but partly because it was further than I thought. it was another beautiful but cold day, so I tried to keep moving to keep myself warm, but decided to have a break once I got to the park and find a café to warm up in.
Just at the start of the park, a guy started chatting to me. he has recently moved to Vancouver from India and we decided we'd wander round the park together rather than separately on our own. Instead of a café, I found a gift shop that served coffee, so hung around with a hot drink pretending to look at souvenirs until I had warmed up again, then the two of us set off to walk round the outside of the park.
As the park is on a headland, I could look back to where I started walking and it did look far! We turned a corner and the view became the north of Vancouver instead. The cliffs next to us were covered in icicles, which I thought was awesome and wanted to play. Luckily, my new friend has a similar level of maturity and joined in enthusiastically when I suggested sword fighting with icicles! Yippee!
A bit further on we saw a seal bobbing up and down in the water. That was another highlight. There was also a huge rock, a lighthouse, some information about conservation work, a bridge, and some spectacular views before we hit the far side of the park where the beaches start.
We missed out on the lost lagoon somehow, but after the beaches we parted ways and I went to find somewhere to eat.
I found a nice quiet café and had a burger with soup and hot chocolate to help me warm up again. They were also playing a classic rock radio station, which made me smile. For the second time I was having lunch at around 4:30, but at least this time I'd had breakfast quite late so it sort of made sense.
After checking my map, I headed back to the other end of the seawall just as the sun was starting to set, making everything look amazing, and walked for another few kilometres alongside beaches and parks until I found the train station. Vancouver is a beautiful city.
I got changed and ready as Roy had invited me to a club night, then the two of us went to the liquor store. I got very excited about finding the cheapest bottle of wine I've found in Canada, but after a few sips I checked the bottle and realised we had bought alcohol free wine!! why a liquor store would even sell this I don't know. with the store due to close very soon, it was lucky I had spotted it and we hurried back to buy some "real" wine, laughing at how stupid we were.
The club was also nearby, and when we got there, I found some familiar faces from the last couple of days, but most people had some sort of costume and I'd only bought jeans, t-shirt and trainers with me so I borrowed bits of other people's costumes for short amounts of time each.
Very soon after arriving I spotted a whole group of people in one corner with poi, hula hoops and all sorts of other stuff and gleefully headed over there to try and join in. I got to try a magic floaty stick thing I'd seen at the Kaleidoscope festival in Edmonton, although I wasn't very good at it, and I got taught some new poi moves that I can practice at home sometime. I then spent ages trying to hula hoop but it's much harder than it looks so I failed to learn any tricks at all.
At the end of the night, Roy invited a few people back to his place for an after party (via more late night pizza), so I got to stay up longer and chat to some of his friends. With all bars shutting at 2am, after parties are kinda normal. I was having so much fun that, when I actually looked at my watch I realised that my alarm would be going off soon as I had to go to the airport bright and early in the morning!
I packed up my bags, said goodbye to all the random people, thanked Roy for being so marvellous and headed out to see what sort of breakfast places would be open this early.
Roy went to look after Arthur, who has food poisoning now and I set off to Stanley park via the train and seawall walk. The walk to the park took longer than I thought. Partly because there were plaques to read on the way, but partly because it was further than I thought. it was another beautiful but cold day, so I tried to keep moving to keep myself warm, but decided to have a break once I got to the park and find a café to warm up in.
Just at the start of the park, a guy started chatting to me. he has recently moved to Vancouver from India and we decided we'd wander round the park together rather than separately on our own. Instead of a café, I found a gift shop that served coffee, so hung around with a hot drink pretending to look at souvenirs until I had warmed up again, then the two of us set off to walk round the outside of the park.
As the park is on a headland, I could look back to where I started walking and it did look far! We turned a corner and the view became the north of Vancouver instead. The cliffs next to us were covered in icicles, which I thought was awesome and wanted to play. Luckily, my new friend has a similar level of maturity and joined in enthusiastically when I suggested sword fighting with icicles! Yippee!
A bit further on we saw a seal bobbing up and down in the water. That was another highlight. There was also a huge rock, a lighthouse, some information about conservation work, a bridge, and some spectacular views before we hit the far side of the park where the beaches start.
We missed out on the lost lagoon somehow, but after the beaches we parted ways and I went to find somewhere to eat.
After checking my map, I headed back to the other end of the seawall just as the sun was starting to set, making everything look amazing, and walked for another few kilometres alongside beaches and parks until I found the train station. Vancouver is a beautiful city.
I got changed and ready as Roy had invited me to a club night, then the two of us went to the liquor store. I got very excited about finding the cheapest bottle of wine I've found in Canada, but after a few sips I checked the bottle and realised we had bought alcohol free wine!! why a liquor store would even sell this I don't know. with the store due to close very soon, it was lucky I had spotted it and we hurried back to buy some "real" wine, laughing at how stupid we were.
The club was also nearby, and when we got there, I found some familiar faces from the last couple of days, but most people had some sort of costume and I'd only bought jeans, t-shirt and trainers with me so I borrowed bits of other people's costumes for short amounts of time each.
Very soon after arriving I spotted a whole group of people in one corner with poi, hula hoops and all sorts of other stuff and gleefully headed over there to try and join in. I got to try a magic floaty stick thing I'd seen at the Kaleidoscope festival in Edmonton, although I wasn't very good at it, and I got taught some new poi moves that I can practice at home sometime. I then spent ages trying to hula hoop but it's much harder than it looks so I failed to learn any tricks at all.
At the end of the night, Roy invited a few people back to his place for an after party (via more late night pizza), so I got to stay up longer and chat to some of his friends. With all bars shutting at 2am, after parties are kinda normal. I was having so much fun that, when I actually looked at my watch I realised that my alarm would be going off soon as I had to go to the airport bright and early in the morning!
I packed up my bags, said goodbye to all the random people, thanked Roy for being so marvellous and headed out to see what sort of breakfast places would be open this early.
This was lots of fun, but probably not going to help with jet lag recovery!
Tuesday, 10 December 2013
Day 96: Museum day
I managed to get up at a sensible time, and found some breakfast in one of the many cafes on Commercial Drive, where Roy lives. Its quite a nice area and feels like its "up and coming" or something. Following directions in my guidebook I managed to find the Museum of Anthropology on the University campus and arrived about 20 minutes before a guided tour was due to start, which gave me enough time to buy a cup of tea and have a look at the sculptures outside (and throw rocks at the frozen solid pond!).
The tour was a great way to see the museum as we were given a lot of background information in context without having to read lots of plaques and figure it all out ourselves. Although they had some non-Canadian exhibits, the main focus was the first nations tribes from around the local area. They interspersed older objects with modern sculptures as they wanted to make it clear that it was about an ongoing culture, rather than just history.
The tour guide also covered some of the pretty shady history and pointed us towards a special exhibit, which I went to afterwards, about schools they sent children to in order to assimilate them into Canadian and Christian society and forget their own culture. They were pretty terrible places and it seems like very many lives were ruined as a consequence.
All the totem poles were impressive, and I especially liked that they meant something to the family that owned them, but that it was just for them and they do not share the meanings. All they can tell us in the museum is what the different animals are and what they might represent in the folklore.
Next I headed across campus to the Biodiversity Museum. It seems like a lovely campus and mostly pedestrianized. When you go into the museum, they have a blue whale skeleton hanging right across the room.
I really liked this museum, it reminds me a bit of the Natural History Museum in London and I think it would benefit from several visits (if only it didn't cost money and was somewhere I lived). I followed my usual strategy of trying to find a Babirusa (no luck) and a cormorant (found!), then wandered aimlessly looking for things with silly names or odd shapes and reading some of the information.
Down one wall they had art displays, inspired mostly by microbes, which were pretty interesting. The fish display was mostly things in jars, which wasn't great as they lose all their colour and just look dull... like a jar of dead fish. Then at the back of the room I found interactive displays showing work of two of the researchers. That was pretty interesting, especially one studying fish that breathe air and cope with acidic water.
I could feel the sleepiness increasing while I was there. Much less intense than yesterday but still a challenge. It had taken much longer than I thought, so I failed to get back downtown in time for cheap entry to a Christmas market I'd seen. Given how similar it looked to other markets, such as Birmingham, I didn't want to pay loads so went to look for food elsewhere instead. I soon found a small Greek place and ordered a huge plate of food, as it was now approaching 4:30 and this was my lunch! Roy texted me to say that he was meeting friends in a pub at 7pm if I wanted to join, so I decided to scrap any further tourism planned for the day, head back to change, then meet him at the pub. I had thought I could look round the park, but as it was already so late I decided to save it for tomorrow.
We had a few drinks in the bar, but it was really busy and they wouldn't let people stand around. You had to be sitting at a table so nobody could talk properly. Then a bunch of us headed over to a nearby ice rink and had a bit of a skate. We then found out the next bar we were going to was closed already, so instead we went to a liquor store, then a house party. It was a pretty crazy house party, with every room in the house packed and some live music going on in the main floor. I chatted to some people and danced a bit and eventually we made it home via some late night pizza place. Everybody has been very welcoming and I really felt part of Roy's life rather than just a random houseguest.
The tour was a great way to see the museum as we were given a lot of background information in context without having to read lots of plaques and figure it all out ourselves. Although they had some non-Canadian exhibits, the main focus was the first nations tribes from around the local area. They interspersed older objects with modern sculptures as they wanted to make it clear that it was about an ongoing culture, rather than just history.
All the totem poles were impressive, and I especially liked that they meant something to the family that owned them, but that it was just for them and they do not share the meanings. All they can tell us in the museum is what the different animals are and what they might represent in the folklore.
Next I headed across campus to the Biodiversity Museum. It seems like a lovely campus and mostly pedestrianized. When you go into the museum, they have a blue whale skeleton hanging right across the room.
Down one wall they had art displays, inspired mostly by microbes, which were pretty interesting. The fish display was mostly things in jars, which wasn't great as they lose all their colour and just look dull... like a jar of dead fish. Then at the back of the room I found interactive displays showing work of two of the researchers. That was pretty interesting, especially one studying fish that breathe air and cope with acidic water.
I could feel the sleepiness increasing while I was there. Much less intense than yesterday but still a challenge. It had taken much longer than I thought, so I failed to get back downtown in time for cheap entry to a Christmas market I'd seen. Given how similar it looked to other markets, such as Birmingham, I didn't want to pay loads so went to look for food elsewhere instead. I soon found a small Greek place and ordered a huge plate of food, as it was now approaching 4:30 and this was my lunch! Roy texted me to say that he was meeting friends in a pub at 7pm if I wanted to join, so I decided to scrap any further tourism planned for the day, head back to change, then meet him at the pub. I had thought I could look round the park, but as it was already so late I decided to save it for tomorrow.
We had a few drinks in the bar, but it was really busy and they wouldn't let people stand around. You had to be sitting at a table so nobody could talk properly. Then a bunch of us headed over to a nearby ice rink and had a bit of a skate. We then found out the next bar we were going to was closed already, so instead we went to a liquor store, then a house party. It was a pretty crazy house party, with every room in the house packed and some live music going on in the main floor. I chatted to some people and danced a bit and eventually we made it home via some late night pizza place. Everybody has been very welcoming and I really felt part of Roy's life rather than just a random houseguest.
Monday, 9 December 2013
Day 95: Longest Day Ever!
Today started with the flight to Shanghai. I tried to sleep, but mostly failed as I kept constantly waking up again. I had a very long transit time in Shanghai to look forward to, but this ended up being dramatically reduced as the plane landed at the "other" Shanghai airport instead due to weather issues, so we all had to collect our bags again and wait for a shuttle bus to take us across, then check back in again. This was not exactly handled well by China Eastern air though! Nobody actually told us anything. I thought it was strange that they were asking me to go through the customs etc. even though I was only transiting, and then a whole bunch of us had to wait in a corner while they took our passports away. I then happened to notice my bag on the carousel and asked one of the airport staff why it was there and not being transferred to my next flight. She told me I had to collect it, then wait for a shuttle bus, and i'd have to check it back in again at the other airport.
This sounds simple enough, but then by the time I left the airport, the shuttle bus was full (there were several planes with the same problem), the poor boy on duty there had no information about when the next bus was coming. he spent a lot of time talking to people on his walkie talkie but they didn't offer any solution either. Quite a few people were getting irate as their next flights were very soon (I had hours still, and mostly felt sorry for the guy), there was no offer to throw the urgent people in taxis and you'd think getting some extra busses wouldn't take that long, but we were probably waiting a couple of hours in all. we watched the sun come up at any rate! I certainly want going to go and wait indoors as i'd lose my place near the front.
Eventually, two coaches arrived. I went straight on without waiting to put my backpack underneath as I thought I wouldn't get a spot otherwise and I don't think two coaches would be enough for the massive crowd gathering. The mood on the coach was fairly relaxed though. I think a few people had given up and got taxis and a few had resigned themselves to their fate. I thought that if planes couldn't land, they probably couldn't take off either so everybody would be delayed anyway.
it took about an hour to get to the "right" airport, but after all the extra faffing I still had many many hours until my next flight.
I found a café to sit in and drink cup after cup of tea or coffee while reading my Rough Guide's chapter on Vancouver to plan out how to spend my time there. They have free wifi so I even managed to check my emails. My flight was due to leave at 1:30pm on 5th December, and arrive in Vancouver after over ten hours flying at 8:30am on 5th December... i.e. I get to time travel!
I watched many films and arrived feeling a little confused and tired, although I did notice that now cars will stop for you if you want to cross the road, and taxi drivers don't all holler at you to try and get business "you need tuktuk lady?" etc. With only minor faffing, I managed to find Arthur's house. He had agreed to let me leave my bags in his house for the day as Roy (who I would be staying with) wouldn't be free until 8pm. Arthur was very friendly and welcoming, and well aware of the couchsurfing phenomenon. So now, I was all ready to start my first day of tourism in Vancouver as well as getting a chance to re-do Thursday all over again!
I was expecting Vancouver weather to be more like England, but the Edmonton weather must have decided to follow me over as it was sunny, clear and cold, and a beautiful city. My plan mostly involved walking around, with a few things that do actually cost money as well. First stop police museum.
The first half was a bit dull. lots of history. but the second half had things like descriptions of gory unsolved murders and an autopsy lab.
As I was close to Chinatown, I bought some buns from a bakery for lunch, then headed on to Gastown (a trendy hipster area) which has a steam powered clock.
This brought me up to the waterfront, where there are buildings to look at and a tower to go up. You can go back again in the same day so I planned to go in the day time and at night. there were lots of things to read at the top of the tower, but it was making me really sleepy so I only read about half of them.
The next thing I set off to see was the library, but it was nice just wandering around too. I found a nice farmer's market and bought a cake for later.
I was meeting up with another couchsurfer, Eileen, at 4pm to get some dinner at the restaurant she works in. unfortunately, she was going to have to go back to work as someone was sick, but there was still time for us to eat and chat first. it was a small but lovely Vietnamese place. I had noodles with chicken and spring rolls and Eileen had some calamari, which was actually delicious! the problem was that I was now more tired than I have ever been and struggling to stay awake and hold a conversation. Plus there were still three hours til i'd be able to meet Roy so no chance of actually sleeping. Hopefully I will be able to meet up with Eileen again in the summer, or maybe we can both travel somewhere together.
After dinner, I decided that it would be best for me to walk back downtown and let the cold air keep me awake, rather than use the train, although it was hard to tell if I was awake or dreaming some of the time!
I went back up the tower again, but failed to read much more of the information. it was hilarious how sleepy I was!
I got the train to Arthur's house, but arrived a bit early. I thought either I could persuade someone to let me in because i'd just look so pathetic or i'd sit on the doorstep, but luckily there was someone in and no persuading was needed. he was well aware that I was coming, totally friendly and a real relief to meet after such a tiring evening. I was more than happy to just sit in a comfy chair and wait.
Roy and Arthur came home at around 8pm, by which time I was getting a bit of a second wind and starting to perk up again. We grabbed my bags and walked a few blocks more to his place. He is living on his own for the first time and it all sounds very similar to when I first got my own place. even down to the not having internet.
We chatted for quite a while in the end so I actually went to bed at a normal Canada time.
This sounds simple enough, but then by the time I left the airport, the shuttle bus was full (there were several planes with the same problem), the poor boy on duty there had no information about when the next bus was coming. he spent a lot of time talking to people on his walkie talkie but they didn't offer any solution either. Quite a few people were getting irate as their next flights were very soon (I had hours still, and mostly felt sorry for the guy), there was no offer to throw the urgent people in taxis and you'd think getting some extra busses wouldn't take that long, but we were probably waiting a couple of hours in all. we watched the sun come up at any rate! I certainly want going to go and wait indoors as i'd lose my place near the front.
Eventually, two coaches arrived. I went straight on without waiting to put my backpack underneath as I thought I wouldn't get a spot otherwise and I don't think two coaches would be enough for the massive crowd gathering. The mood on the coach was fairly relaxed though. I think a few people had given up and got taxis and a few had resigned themselves to their fate. I thought that if planes couldn't land, they probably couldn't take off either so everybody would be delayed anyway.
it took about an hour to get to the "right" airport, but after all the extra faffing I still had many many hours until my next flight.
I found a café to sit in and drink cup after cup of tea or coffee while reading my Rough Guide's chapter on Vancouver to plan out how to spend my time there. They have free wifi so I even managed to check my emails. My flight was due to leave at 1:30pm on 5th December, and arrive in Vancouver after over ten hours flying at 8:30am on 5th December... i.e. I get to time travel!
I watched many films and arrived feeling a little confused and tired, although I did notice that now cars will stop for you if you want to cross the road, and taxi drivers don't all holler at you to try and get business "you need tuktuk lady?" etc. With only minor faffing, I managed to find Arthur's house. He had agreed to let me leave my bags in his house for the day as Roy (who I would be staying with) wouldn't be free until 8pm. Arthur was very friendly and welcoming, and well aware of the couchsurfing phenomenon. So now, I was all ready to start my first day of tourism in Vancouver as well as getting a chance to re-do Thursday all over again!
I was expecting Vancouver weather to be more like England, but the Edmonton weather must have decided to follow me over as it was sunny, clear and cold, and a beautiful city. My plan mostly involved walking around, with a few things that do actually cost money as well. First stop police museum.
The first half was a bit dull. lots of history. but the second half had things like descriptions of gory unsolved murders and an autopsy lab.
As I was close to Chinatown, I bought some buns from a bakery for lunch, then headed on to Gastown (a trendy hipster area) which has a steam powered clock.
The next thing I set off to see was the library, but it was nice just wandering around too. I found a nice farmer's market and bought a cake for later.
I was meeting up with another couchsurfer, Eileen, at 4pm to get some dinner at the restaurant she works in. unfortunately, she was going to have to go back to work as someone was sick, but there was still time for us to eat and chat first. it was a small but lovely Vietnamese place. I had noodles with chicken and spring rolls and Eileen had some calamari, which was actually delicious! the problem was that I was now more tired than I have ever been and struggling to stay awake and hold a conversation. Plus there were still three hours til i'd be able to meet Roy so no chance of actually sleeping. Hopefully I will be able to meet up with Eileen again in the summer, or maybe we can both travel somewhere together.
After dinner, I decided that it would be best for me to walk back downtown and let the cold air keep me awake, rather than use the train, although it was hard to tell if I was awake or dreaming some of the time!
I went back up the tower again, but failed to read much more of the information. it was hilarious how sleepy I was!
I got the train to Arthur's house, but arrived a bit early. I thought either I could persuade someone to let me in because i'd just look so pathetic or i'd sit on the doorstep, but luckily there was someone in and no persuading was needed. he was well aware that I was coming, totally friendly and a real relief to meet after such a tiring evening. I was more than happy to just sit in a comfy chair and wait.
Roy and Arthur came home at around 8pm, by which time I was getting a bit of a second wind and starting to perk up again. We grabbed my bags and walked a few blocks more to his place. He is living on his own for the first time and it all sounds very similar to when I first got my own place. even down to the not having internet.
We chatted for quite a while in the end so I actually went to bed at a normal Canada time.
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