The Kick and Ren Hit the Water of BC

(this is long…buckle up) 

So Nick and I spent a lot of time having fun out on the water of BC this past weekend.  It’s find of fitting in a way.  Not so much becuase Nick is into boats…but because when Pat was here we had a very elevated, very earthy time….and now this weekend was kind of it’s alter ego.  Adventure low to the ground and on water. 

Friday we hopped on a ferry and headed over to Galiano Island, which is one of the larger Gulf Islands.  Though it’s one of the biggest in terms of land, ther island isn’t a huge tourist spot.  There is only one pub, one or two cafes, a book store, a few parks, a marina and lots of coastline to enjoy.  Nick and I got a ride on the island shuttle where our driver Mel, a really nice lady, drove us around. 

We got the harbor and found our way to the kayak rental office.  We met Tamara, who was experiencing her first day working in the kayak office.  They got us suited up, gave us our safety lesson, put us in the double tandam kayak and sent us on our way.  I was in front, and was in charge of keeping pace with the stokes, which proved to be hard at first as I flopped around trying to find my rhythm.  Nick was in back and he had foot peddals to control the rudder.  He had some difficulty getting comfortable with the pedals and though some of the turns we executed weren’t perfect, we quickly mastered the backpaddle to stop the kayak and back it up so we could try again!

We paddled all the way around the shoreline of the harbor and paddled right into the wind to turn down into the channel.  As we paddled down the channel we came across an empty beach.  We paddled up, hopped out and pulled the boat to shore.  We relaxed on the beach, saw some crab shells, and found a hiking path from the nearby park.  After baking in the sun, we decided to hop back into the kayak and paddle our way back. 

We decided to get adventurous and instead of paddling around the shoreline, we dared to cut straight across the harbor inbetween all the anchored boats.  That worked well until I mistakenly thought one of the boats was moving, and we had to back paddle to change course since I’d stop paddling in fear of the bigger boat.  It was fine, because of course the other boat was going nowhere, but it had to be pretty comical to watch…because the boat I thought was moving had people on it…and they got to watch Nick and I flop around like fools.  We got back to dock and on land again with no trouble – no boat tipping!!

We had some lunch and took the shuttle back to the ferry dock and left the island.  Once back in Vancouver we cleaned up and headed to George, a nice lounge down in Yaletown.  It has an extensive and amazing cocktail menu, as well as some food.  We ended up spending our whole night sampling drinks and later on in the night a nice couple in their 40’s ended up sitting next to us.  Sharon and Dave had some nice advice for us, and it was fun to end up in a radom conversation. 

Saturday we woke up to gray skies and a mixed forecast.  Unsure if the sun would come out, we decided to head down to Coal Harbor downtown here and rent a boat.  We figured we’d rather hit the water before any rain.  We took a 16 foot motor boat out for 2 hrs tooling around the harbor, Burrard Inlet and just into Indian Arm.  The harbor was a bit choppy, and we took on some larger waves (for such a small boat) along the way, but we survived.  We also were really excited to see some seals and several loonies bobbing around in the water.  It was too hard to snap a picture, which was too bad, but very cool to see.

Of course as soon as we returned to the boat, the sun came out!  So we headed to the other side of downtown and hopped on the small ferries over to Granville Island.  We grabbed some lunch and then went to the Granville Island Brewery.  We did a ’round the world’ tasting of 4 of their current brews.  We liked most of them, but agreed the honey lager and the raspberry wheat ale were our faves.  On our way back to the ferry we stumbled across the Model Ship and Model Train Museum, which of course we had to visit.  It was actually pretty neat to see all of the models, and Nick got to see a fully finished model of the boat he’s been working on for the past decade! 

We headed back into downtown and picked up some Cupcakes and some dinner at Simbas and went straigh to the beach and ate watching the sunset.  The 2nd night of the fireworks festival was going on and we wanted a good seat for the show.  The show did not dissapoint.  Canada kicked Spain’s tush. 

We called it a night after the fireworks and woke up Sunday and hopped the Seabus, which is different than the ferry, which very different than a B.C Ferry.  We took the Seabus to North Vancouver for the Carribean Festival. 

The festival was fun and we watched the children’s parade, danced a little to steel drum music, and ate some tasty Jerk Ribs, and chicken rotti.  Rotti is a mix of chickpeas all mashed up, pototoes and either veggies or chicken in a toritilla.  MMMM. 

I’m sure we could have found another type of boat or body of water to explore, but the weekend was over and Nick had to fly home.  It was a great weekend and it was so good to spend some time with im.  Until next month….

Vancouver by Boat

Nick was here this past weekend and we had a blast.  We spent the majority of the weekend on the water in various forms of boat travel.  I’ll write about everything later on, but for now, here is the link to the full picture album, and here are a few quick pics. 

    

Strike It Up

Starting over the weekend the majority of Vancouver municipal unionized workers went on strike.  That include garbage collection, city recreation centers, parks, golf courses, public pools, city daycamps, animal control etc, librarians etc.   

 It’s very interesting to watch the picket lines form and the story unfold.  Currenlty negotiations have stalled and both parties have walked away from the discussions at hand.

I’m really curious to see what happens on Wednesday.  The city hosts a huge fireworks spectacular downtown.  From everything I’m told you can barely even walk downtown the influx of people is so large. 

Typically, the garbage cleanup from this event takes crews with trucks and beachcombers until 5am the next morning.  This year, with garbage cleanup on strike, the city will only have a handful of managers and volunteers to do a totally manual cleanup effort. 

I was in NYC when the transit workers went on strike, and the island of Manhattan went into an uproar.  Here, though people are unhappy, most support the striking workers.

I’m interested to see how long into this strike the support lasts, and I am curious to see how the city copes, and how long citizens are tolerant. 

Sunglasses that Will Travel

A few months ago when I was in LA I stopped in and visited the Sigrid Olsen showroom in the LA Mart.  I saw the new rack of sunglasses in the showroom and asked how I could get a pair for myself.  My Wally World pair that I’ve had for the past 2 years is finally breaking and I needed a replacement. 

It seemed pretty easy at the time.  Place the order, wait a few weeks, and send the sunglasses up to Vancouver.  Well the sunglasses arrived in LA no problem.  They were then packed up in a Fed-Ex box and shipped 2 day international to BC. 

That was over a week ago.  Yesterday we tracked the package and found out that from LA the sunglasses went to Oakland California and were then routed to “Alexandria, AU”….Australia.  Interesting.   After Australia the glasses were shipped back to Vancouver, BC.  However yesterday it showed the packed “Arrived sorting location Subic Bay, Freeport PH.  PH?  Philippines. 

It seems the package was incorrectly sorted twice.  It has had quite a journey to make it up here to Vancouver.  They should arrive tomorrow.  I wish I could travel that far for $24. 

Shake, Rattle, and Roll

Yesterday my company made some big announcements.  We gave Wall Street our 3 year outlook and outlined by brand how we planned to cut costs, improve operating profit, lower inventory and improve sales.  The meeting was a 4hr webcast, and I woke up at 5am PDT so I could listen in and hear the company’s plans.  Part of this master plan is divesting or dissolving 16 of the current brands we hold in our portfolio.  Unfortunately for me, both brands I work for are now under review for sale or closure.  All I know at this point is that just because my brands are being sold, does not mean I’m out of a job.  There will be 600-800 positions eliminated at the corporate level, most upper and middle management.  Everyone else will be put into a ‘talent pool’ that the remaining management can choose from to keep on.  So it’s time for me to start swimming pretty.  This is my 4th corporate realignment/shakeup that I’ve been through.  I find that amusing considering I’ve only been in the business world the same number of years.  I’ll keep everyone posted as anything new happens.  Now, it’s time to sit around, work, and wait.  This is when the fun really begins…

Turn Your Head and Cough

Last night I went to see the Michael Moore movie Sicko.  In usual Moore fashion, the antics were a bit over the top, however I think his message about a broken health care system is right on target.   In the movie Moore examines the benefits people in other countries enjoy though socialized medicine programs.  The main point he focuses on, is that these systems are free to taxpaying citizens in those countries.   One of the big arguments against a system like this in the U.S has been that you have to wait too long to see a doctor and you could die waiting for treatment.  I wished Moore had asked questions regarding these issues when he visited other nations.  I luckily have some inside knowledge via my stay here in Canada.   In Canada it is true that you may not be able to see a doctor the same day you call, because you do need an appointment.  However, most Canadians when they are very sick and need immediate care go to walk in clinics and hospital emergency rooms.  Hospital emergency rooms are also good options.  Wait times are not 5-8 hrs like we are used to in the U.S.  Instead most Canadians can get in and see someone within an hour of arriving.  I think part of the reason America is scared of socialized medicine is because we’re looking it from the lens of treatment from HMO care.  Most people don’t think to go to free clinics.  We are all very loyal to our doctors and want to see them when we are sick to get the best care.  We think of the emergency room as a last resort, because wait times are high, and hospital bills are high.   In a socialized system, the playing field is evened out.  Clinics and hospitals and doctors are all equally good methods of receiving care.  So if your doctor has a full schedule, you have two options at your disposal to receive immediate care.   I’m not just spewing word of mouth info either.  I actually went to one of the clinics here just over a month ago.  Since I didn’t have a Canadian health card, they just asked for my name, address, age, etc.  I did have to pay a bill, since I’m not part of the healthcare system.  In the end, a clinic visit, medicine and lab tests cost me $170.  Not cheap, but it didn’t break my bank, and I was able to see a doctor and take care of what I needed to.  I also think I’ve been fairly lucky.  I’ve had to fight for my insurance company to cover my medical costs a few times and it’s a struggle.  I know my mom had to fight on my behalf for 3 years to get an emergency clinic visit covered when I was in college.  We’ve had to fight, but we’ve won.  Luckily for me, I was given the care, and then could fight with the insurance company later.  However it works differently in a hospital and the hospital won’t treat you for certain things if it’s not covered.  I can’t imagine being denied care, and I hope I never have to face that situation.   We need some type of change, and maybe socialized medicine isn’t the answer for us.  But I don’t think it’s as bad as we’ve been told.  There are issues with every system.  Nothing is perfect. 

Shopping in the Dark

On Saturday night this weekend I went and checked out the Richmond Night Market.  It’s about a 20 minute drive from my apartment.  Richmond is the next city south of Vancouver in BC. 

The night market is in the tradition of Chinese night markets, which are apparently very common.  The market in Richmond doesn’t open until 7pm and stays open until midnight. 

The market is huge!  There are 4 long rows of vendors, and a really large food vendor area.  You can buy anything from handbags, luggage, shoes, clothing to electronics, cd’s, dvd’s, you name it!  Some of the vendors even had on wireless headset microphones to put on full sales pitches as people gathered around their tents. 

I ended up purchasing a really cute pair of shoes ($18!), and three basic tank tops (it was a 3 for $10 sale). 

I also tried Bubble Tea for the first time.  I have seen signs for Bubble Tea all over downtown here, but I thought it was a chain tea shop.  After seeing all the displays the vendors had at the market, I realized it was something different.  I had a green milk tea, and it was so yummy!!  The tea can be hot or iced and it has tapioca balls or ‘pearls’, as they are referred to, in the drink.  The green milk tea was just sweet enough to taste like candy, and the tapioca pearls tasted like marshmallows. 

There was also plenty of meat on a stick for sale.  I tried some potatoes wrapped in bacon on a stick and they were pretty good.  There were vendors selling gyoza, sugar cane juice (made on site!), octopus etc. 

I spent around 2 hrs looking at all the booths and watching the various martial arts demonstrations on stage (apparently some nights there are bands that play later on at night).  It was a really neat experience and it was packed with people.  And it was certainly more fun than sitting home watching tv! 

4th Of July!

I went to the office dressed like this today, yes it’s true…

Happy (Belated) Canada Day

Yesterday (July 1st) was Canada Day.  It’s Canada’s Independence celebration.  The nation turned 140 years old this 2007.  I was surprised to hear how much ‘younger’ a nation Canada was than the U.S.  I knew the US was independent before Canada, but guess I never realized how much earlier that happened.

 For the day I went over to Canada Place and listened to the bands, watched the face painting etc.  The big food attraction was BBQ Corn, which was ears of corn cooked on a grill.  No sauce, no butter, just corn.  Interesting. 

There were also fireworks downtown right by my apartment.  We had to wait until 10:30pm for the show to start since daylight lasts so long at this time of year.  It was really nice, and the crowd randomly broke into the national anthem during the finale. 

Technically today (Monday) is a national holiday so no one is working, however the NY office had too much going on for me to take a break, so I worked from 7:30-4pm from my apartment.  I guess that’s what I get for not being Canadian. 

(Take a look at this fun e-card Nick sent along to help me celebrate)