Snowcouver

...just doesn't have the same ring as Snowlowna did last year.

It's snowing in Vancouver. I guess all my complaints about missing Ontario weather have finally turned around to bite me in the ass. It seems I'm now getting Ontario weather and all of you in Ontario have been enjoying a balmy end of November. Bah! I'm sure when I return on Tuesday, things will cool down and the snow will start.

As I write this, my mommy's 19 minutes into her first plane flight EVER! She's on her way to Dallas for a business conference and I'm so proud of her for travelling alone. We were texting during her wait in the terminal and she was excited/nervous. I can only imagine how nervous she was boarding the plane and then it taking off. I'm tracking the flight online and it's pretty cool to see where she's flying.

2 more sleeps for me before I get to depart the west coast and head back home. I'm really looking forward to it. Between all the rain, the boil water advisory, the mini blizzard, the very long month in hotels and the same boring wardrobe, I'm ready to head back. I miss my family and friends, my apartment, my cat, my Ontario.

Not fit to be paparazzo

On my recent trip to find peppermint hot chocolate (seriously, my love of mint and chocolate is unreal) I happened across yet another film crew shooting a movie scene. I almost walked right by it again, not paying it much attention. Then I noticed the film trucks, pulled out my camera (which I had on me this time) and snapped 1 photo. I was so afraid they'd yell at me from across the street that I just got the one in. You can't see a whole lot and I think they were shooting in the lobby/entrance, but here it is!

don't drink the water....

I've been singing that Dave Matthews song in my head over this boil water advisory. I didn't even know the word 'turbidity' existed until this week. We're not supposed to drink the tap water (which is a gross yellow/brown colour and not at all appealing) without boiling it. Thankfully, I already had a case of water in my room for the week and the hotel's been very generous in supplying us with bottles of water. Certainly puts my tea addiction at bay.

Between the rain, the pulled back muscle and this, I wish I was at home. Tomorrow I plan to go site seeing and do a little shopping to lift spirits. Just 11 days to go!

cosmo girl

There's something about Starbucks that makes me feel so ripped off cosmopolitan. Especially when I buy it in Vancouver. Although I wasn't wearing skinny jeans and Uggs, a furry hat and a big scarf, I still felt like a city girl strutting down the busy downtown streets with my peppermint hot chocolate and super cute umbrella.

I literally walked through a crew filming a movie scene this afternoon. As I walked by the library, I thought it was a group of protestors and thought "that's pretty weird....wonder what's up at the library." Then I saw the film crew and the hollywood police swat team. Of course this would be the trip out that I didn't bring my camera. Dammit! And you can bet every other time I have my camera on me now, there will be nothing to see. booo

football madness

Today is this and my hotel is directly across from the dome. There have been bull horns, cheers, music, and people filling the street since 10am this morning for the 1pm game. The hotel has been filling up all weekend with crazy men and women prepping for the big game. The room across the hall from mine is filled with middle-aged men, dressed in ridiculous outfits of orange and black. They are feeling the effects of their alcohol (I'm sure) and they just had a kick off in the hallway. Haha! They're now chanting "Argos suck." Reports on the news this morning say that they've sold just under 50,000 tickets for this even. Crazy! If the Lions win, I imagine the parties will be going until the evening.

Thank goodness tomorrow's a stat holiday and I don't have to work!

hotel pet peeves

A few things about hotel life that bother me....

• no do not disturb sign for the door....the housekeeper woke me up this morning
• attack shower curtains.
• shower curtains that do not shut all the way and allow for water to leak on the floor
• what's up with the hallway decorations? Seriously....flowered carpets, striped walls
• drunken neighbours/thin walls

This isn't all in my current hotel (thankfully since I have 17 more days to go). Just a list I've been keeping since my hotel stays started.

date update

I forgot to mention how the date went in my last post.

It got postponed twice due to his, then my schedule. We finally met for drinks the Monday before I left. I set a time limit on it of an hour and a half with flexible enough plans after that if we were hitting it off, I could have easily stayed.

I'm glad I set the limit.

We met at the fountain downtown and as he said hi, I could barely hear him. No smiling. He shook my hand. lol. So formal and already I knew he was quite nervous. I tried to keep the energy and conversation up, hoping he'd loosen up a bit and relax.

We went to a pub and ordered a pint each. He was shaking he was so nervous so I knew I couldn't be the shy one. I really had to be my chatty self (which doesn't always come out right away). I asked questions, I went into detail when he asked me questions. His pint was going down faster than mine. He didn't smile until half way through the date! So awkward. And his eye contact was more like staring me down. I tried not to show how uncomfortable I was and just kept 'having fun'. haha!

After an hour in, I was ready to call it a night. He had ordered a second pint, though, so I kept up the chatting. Thankfully this wasn't as awkward a date as the last one I talked about, but it was still not an 'out of the ball part, fireworks, can't wait to see him again' date.

When we left, he said we should get together when I'm back from my travels and I said sure. I worry I'm too picky, but really I don't think I am. I knew he was nervous and I really tried to keep the conversation up and when he actually said, 'I'm really nervous' I said don't be! We're just hanging out chatting and getting to know each other. I was really trying to make sure he was comfortable. Maybe I wasn't so nervous because he was? Or because I didn't really feel that 'chemistry' between us. I don't know. I think we'd make good friends, but I'm not so sure about a romantic connection.

So...that's the update on that. Aren't you glad you waited for it?? LOL!

18 days to go!

Well, I'm out here in Vancouver. It's a gray, rainy day as per my last visit lol. Last week I was in Winnipeg and it was snowy, cold and icy. I much prefer the warmer weather and the rain. This week I was in Victoria and it is really a very lovely city. I think of all the places I visit, that's my favourite. Maybe it's because it reminds me of home...it has a great atmosphere and the scenery is beautiful. My schedule was packed though so I didn't get to do a lot of site seeing.

As I mentioned, I'm now in Vancouver and will be here until the 28th. It's a long haul for sure! My sister asked if I liked my hotel room. I told her I'm going to learn to love it by the time I leave. No, in all seriousness, it's a nice hotel. The bed is comfy. I wish I had a little fridge that I could store snacks in, but I'm going to pick up some fruit and snacks tonight. I'm starting to get tired of eating at restaurants so I'm going to move over to grocery meals this weekend.

This weekend is a long weekend so I plan to take advantage of the extra time to do a little site seeing. I'm thinking of hitting the Granville Market and perhaps the Art Gallery. I need to get some homework done so the rainy weather will help that out a bit. Hope everyone's doing well in your part of the country!

Update again soon!