Science World and Beyond...

On Saturday I was awaken by my alarm clock at 5am. Yep my last free day in BC. I had lots to do so I had to get up early. I packed until 11:30am. My work supervisor (Sarah) then kindly picked both me and my heavy boxes up. We went to Langley and dropped the boxes off at the Greyhound Station. I was pretty impressed with the service!

Sarah and I then rode to Vancouver to meet up with Kimberly and her friend. We were going to Science World for the afternoon. Science World is one of the main BC attractions. It is hard to miss, being a huge globe. I almost wasn't going to go because it's apparently geared towards kids. But hey, I'm a kid at heart.

The place is enormous! Three floors full of scientific activity stations. It was unreal. We went to the IMAX-I mean OMNIMAX. Yes there's a difference. The screen in the Omimax is the whole ceiling. The chairs tilt so you can see all of it. We watched a film called "The Nile." It was extraordinary. The film visited the various sites along the Nile-from Ethiopia to Sudan, to Egypt. It explained traditions and myths of the Nile, the danger of the powerful river, and its importance.

Next we headed downstairs and watched an air show. Yes the show was all about air. Very interesting. I discovered that I'm full of hot air. hehehe... For the rest of the day we ran from exhibit to exhibit. I made a sun dial and a rocket ship! Finally we watched a movie on the lives of famous physicists (Galieo, Newton, Einstein, Hawkings). Very entertaining. I learned that historians believe that Newton was gay, and that most of them had social issues. The most surprising information was that Stephen Hawkings suffers from ALS or Lou Gerhig's disease. This is what I will concentrate my Master's on. It was surprising because he was diagnosed with this motor neuron disorder when he was only 21! Usually it affects 40-60 year olds. Also once diagnosed one seldom lives past 5 years. Stephen Hawkings was among the 5% who lived a longer life. Funny how he only began to become motivated to work once he knew about his disorder. He finally realised he wanted to do more with his life. A very interesting man indeed.

The Freshest Cinnamon Bun in the World!

Kimberly and I once again got together after I was finished work. We had no idea what to do so we hopped a bus downtown. She had to be back to work at 5:30pm so we had a little over 2 hours. I thought about what I wanted to check off my list of things-to-do before leaving BC and I realised that I had yet to take a sea bus. As we were waiting for a sea bus a strange girl interrupted our conversation. At the time I was explaining to Kimberly how my plans to hike Grouse Mountain had fallen through 5 times because something came up with my various friends. The girl said that she would ditch her friends and go anyway. She continued to say that she just went to Stanley Park and 8 guys just came up to her out of the blue and gave her their phone number. We found that hard to believe. 8 guys? Please... She told one guy that she didn't want his number and that if it was meant to be she would meet him again in the future. She claimed the guy walked away and ran back and said it was meant to be. This girl was strange. She might have been on something. Who knows out here. She would have talked all day had the sea bus not interrupted our conversation with the random girl. We boarded the sea bus and I was kind of disappointed. It wasn't that exciting, but the view of North Vancouver was nice. The sea bus landed in North Vancouver, at the Lonsdale Quay (pronounced as "key" not quay). Various palces around Vancouver have these quays. They are like flea markets. We roamed around and came aross a bakery. The smell was breath-taking. Yummy! Maybe it's just because we were hungry. We both bought a cinnamon bun and sat down by the water. I'm telling you this cinnamon bun was the freshest, tastiest bun I had ever eaten. (yes I said bun :)). Kimberly and I took off once again and she went off to work. I decided to explore a bit. I came across Spanish Banks. It was a further walk than I thought, but worth it. The Banks is a beach over looking the mountains and the city. Gorgeous view.

Later I went to the Waterfront St. Cafe in Gastown directly infront of the famous steam clock. My work going-away party was set for 7pm. It had a wonderful, relaxing ambience. Most of my co-workers came. The food was good-being mostly Italian food.

It was another great day.

Wreck Beach = Everyone Excluding their Dogs

Last Thursday my friend (Kimberly) and I decided to venture down to Wreck Beach. For those who don't know-this is a nude beach. Well it's your choice if you want to keep your clothes on or off. This may sound exciting to some of you, but really most of the people that take it off are old, and/or really obese people. The last time I was there, in the winter, there were few people, not Thursday- the beach was bustling. Kimberly and I caught up on our news. We had such conflicting schedules we hadn't seen each other in 7 months! Wow! At first I thought I wouldn't be able to handle Wreck Beach. Public nudity was new to me. I could careless. I think if people want to take it off they can. No tan lines. :) I just wish more hot guys would hehe...

Taking a Break

Well I just banged my elbow so hard I almost got sick. Ouch! At least it's my left arm. Still I think I'll take a break from lifting objects. I don't think it's that funny of a bone.

Well I must catch-up on my blogging. I have been very busy this past week. Only three more days of work after this, and 4 days until my trip to Nova Scotia! My packing is all done. My boxes were sent yesterday. I used Greyhound. A very good, cheap service I must say. Now to start a new phase in my life... days away

Workin' It

Yep I'll be working everyday (except Saturday) until I leave for Nova Scotia. That's in 8 days! I have a lot to do, such as packing, sight-seeing, and meeting friends,... It's hard to believe the year went so fast. In some ways I'll miss my 3 hour commute per day. I actually had down time for myself and met many nice people. Many friendships here flourished. I finally feel a bit at home. I will return someday soon. Another funny thing that I will miss are the mice. Yep-I worked this year as an animal health technician II at UBC. I worked closely with researchers, profs and of course the rodents. In Alberta I will be working with people. In some ways it will be avantageous, but I will miss my furry, smelly, little friends. (Aside: my favorite strain of mice is the nude mouse. Nude mice = aliens- I swear. They look so freaky!) Farewell work -3 years back to school.

Quote #2

"Not all who wander are lost." -J.R.R.Tolkien

Tony n'Tina's Wedding

Saturday night I went to a musical theatre entitled "Tony 'n Tina's Wedding." I certainly hope my sister's won't be as crazy! There were strippers, fights, guys kissing,... It was awesome! My friend Trudy and I decided to go when we discovered the tickets were half off. Yeah! Melissa (my roomie) went with another party to the event-a stag party. lol We met each other on the dance floor. Right when we arrived all the actors were in character. Trudy and I were escorted to a terrific corner table. The Italian wedding began. There was a very pregnant bridesmaid who couldn't stop kissing the bestman. Hopefully he's the father. :) The whole wedding ceremony was hilarious. The bride's father came with his date-a stripper. The ex-wife (bride's mother) was constantly pinched by her ex-husband. It was the priest's frist wedding. He was odd. As the night went on he became drunk with the nun. Michael (as actor) sat at our table. Poor Michael was not invited to the wedding, but showed up anyway. He wore jeans and a shirt (containing a picture of a happy face with a bullet through its head). He told us his sad story. He had dated Tina for 5 1/2 years. Last year someone pushed him into Tina and gave her a black eye. Tina's family claimed it was Michael's fault. She dumped him and started dating Tony. Michael was there to get her back. Throughout the evening actors were coming to our table saying that he needed help and that we should watch him. As the night wore on Micheal kept getting closer to Tina. Finally a fight broke out between Tony and him and Micheal was thrown out. :( I liked him. Throughout the night, in every corner of the big room, there was something goign on. There were guys kissing, the boyfriend of a bridesmaid was kissing another girllater they became engaged, the pregnant bridesmaid became drunk, married Las Vegas singers sang (the wife kissed another guy). Trouble was all around. It was a fun night. Great entertainment. All the famous Italian songs were sung, and we danced a little. There was also an Italian buffet. Yummy-my favorite! The muscial theatre certainly got me in the mood for my sister's wedding (on July 30th). I'm so excited! Hopefully it won't be as dramatic as this one was!

Interesting Piece :)

Found this on canoe.ca. Ummm I wonder which will be missed more banannas or men? :) Check it out:
http://lifewise.canoe.ca/SexRomance/ValerieGibson/2005/07/12/1128018.html

2 Weeks...

Yeah! Two weeks and it will be my last day of work! :)

Bishop's Grad on "The Hour"

I really enjoy the CBC news show "The Hour." Unfortuantely it's currently not airing, but it will return in September. One of the last shows this season closed with John Horn-a Bishop's grad. I thought he looked familiar. (He own a contest to close the show. Take a look at the video clip. Go to www.cbc.ca/thehour/ and on the right hand side click on the closer. Then go to Closer contest Winner: Jobs for Grads? ) I thought John had a great message and was an excellent speaker. Take a look. Bishop's grads are everywhere! :)

Friday Night/ Saturday Morning Girl

Friday I was busy running errands all day. I started packing a bit. The days are going by so quickly. Melissa and I were picked up by Sarah (my supervisor) and driven to downtown Vancouver for supper with my work colleagues. We were going to an Iranian resturant because one of my co-workers is Iranian and he wanted us to learn a bit about his culture. The restaurant manager phoned Sarah's cell and said she was only holding the table for 15 more mins. It was 7:30pm and we were supposed to be there at 7pm. Surprisingly, no one (out of our party of 16) was there yet. We then got a phone call from a co-worker saying there were no reservations. He had already ordered a beer and was waiting for us. He was at the wrong resturant. Lol Everyone went to the wrong restaurant except my Iranian friend. The address on the website was for the old address. We all finally sat down about an hour-and-a-half later than expected. I tried eggplant for the first time. It's not so bad. I'm presuming it's pretty bland. I couldn't really tell with all the added spices. Yogurt is a big deal in Iranian dishes. They add spices to it and use it as a dip for almost anything. It was a good dinner. I was finally able to meet everyone's significant other. I brought Melissa (LOL). The new guy Kevin didn't have supper, but instead had three beers. He had to leave quickly and left without paying his bill. Whoops! The waitress scurried over and demanded that his bill be paid. We turned to our boss and said it must be on him. Someone paid for him in the end. :)

After dinner Melissa and I went off to Foggy & Dew (yep that's the name of the Irish pub) to meet up with her birthday friend. Our friend told us to look for the pink hotel beside the skytrain. He had forgotten that we were coming at night when all the buildings of course looked black. We finally found the direction and headed towards the pub. A taxi full of guys pulled up and asked for us to join them. Melissa rudely said "Not in your life time." :)

It was a great bar! Reminded me a bit of the Lion back in Lennoxville, but bigger and classier. There was a band that played oldies. It was a fabulous dance night. At one point (while I was dancing)a guy grabbed my arm. He was weird. One of those guys that just stare at us girls when we're dancing and think they can touch. I was exahusted around 10:30pm. lol Usually my bedtime is 9:30pm because I usually get up at 4:15am. Unfortunately we were getting a ride home so we had to wait. At 2pm the bar closed and I thought "thank goodness." However, then Denny's (the all-night breakfast diner) called to our friends. I had a milkshake at 2:30am. I was home in bed at 4:30am!

I Didn't Shoot the Sheriff, but...

Well I have to get my blog caught up with my life. Last Thursday exemplifies my random world. Trudy and I decided to go to the East end of Vancouver to drop off a police check form for Trudy. She needed to pass it into the Main Street station, but was scared to go to that part of the city by herself. So off we went. Across from the police station was a film shooting. They were filming a spin-off of "Davinci's Inquest" called "Intelligence." I took some pictures. he he...

We waited in line for an hour and a half at the police station. While waiting we had some entertainment. One man came in and the woman behind the bullet-proof window asked him what he was there for and if he had all the documents. He said he was from Edmonton -yeah Edmonton (maybe a new friend?). Anyway he was coming in for a pardon. Unfortunately he didn't have the required documents from Ottawa as to what his crime was. With this news, he threw his papers down on the ground, swore, and yelled, then left.

I thought that was pretty fun, but that wasn't the highlight of my police trip. A man was standing in the police station -just hanging out I guess. Another woman behind the window asked what he was there for. The guy replied that he was waiting for his friend. The woman came out of her office and asked the other man if he was indeed his buddy. No such luck. So again she turned to the man and asked his business. He said it was none of hers. The situation continued to escalate and the woman said that she would get security. He called her a pig and a troll and ran out of the building laughing. Apparently the guy was on some thing. Ummm good Vancouver drugs in this part of town-no surprise.

Random, Wonderful People

I commute 3 hours every day on the bus. I've realised over the past year that this isn't completely, necessarily a bad thing. I have met a lot of people on my travels. A lot of interesting, wonderful, and weird people. When someone sits beside me on the bus I turn to them, make eye contact, and smile. I never realised I did that until my roommate picked up on it. I enjoy talking to the seniors going on their day trips to the big city.

Yesterday I met a 77 year young woman (Patricia) who reminded me of my own grandmother. She had just travelled to Scotland once again to search her ancestry. She travels all the time-her and her identical twin. The woman was going for a long walk once she retunred home with her suitcases. She truly exemplifies the old adage: You're only as old as you feel. She was a sweetie.

Today I was waiting for my bus and a man with dark glasses asked when the bus would be coming. We continued to talk until the bus came. He said that I looked like a 10, but that his eyes aren't that great. Lol I said that I would take anything I could get. We laughed.

Just a Few More Weeks

The day is almost here-July 28th. That's the day I'm leaving British Columbia and visiting Nova Scotia. It's certainly a mixed feeling. I'll be so glad not having to get up at 4am, not working and not commuting! I'm excited to go home for my sister's wedding and see my family for a couple weeks until I move back west. I've made some great friends here, and I'm sure I'll make even more in Alberta. The countdown begins... 24 days and counting... 17 days left of work...

An Unforgettable 24th Birthday!!

I began my 24th birthday with the Live 8 concert (on TV). It was truly remarkable. It was wonderful to see talented musicians playing for a great cause. Melissa and I were planning on going back to Granville Island, but sadly she didn't feel well.

Friends of mine in Vancouver asked if I wanted to go for a hike and I happily agreed. We drove up Mount Seymour and met up with some of their friends. The "hike" was 15 minutes long. No comparison to my hike in New Hampshire. lol As we were going up the trail a black bear stumbled upon our path. It was far enough away that we were safe, but close enough that we knew what it was. Amazing animal. I took some pictures of course. :) For a moment I was scared because we were sort of cornering the bear. We were walking towards the bear (from the trail below) while some hikers were descending towards it. We yelled for them to stop and wait. They didn't hear us at first and kept on walking. Thankfully they finally stopped and we all admired the bear from a safe distance.

At the top of the trail was a beautiful, placid lake. It was so calming. Many people took a dive into the cold water. I sat back and laughed at the shivering idiots. lol At the end of the hike our new friends said "happy b-day" to me and offered me a granola bar as a present. How thoughtful! :) They were all sweet.

Following the hike I made phone calls so everyone could meet for supper at an Italian restaurant. We weren't sure where. We went onto the internet and picked the first one in Yaletown. I didn't know this, but Yaletown is pretty posh. Hence the restaurant was posh. I laughed when we sat down. There I was with my bookbag. When I mean posh...I mean $300 wines. If the stem of my spoon touched my plate a waiter would come over and adjust it. Yep posh! Thankfully, we all ordered tap water and a $20 meal. Not bad. The mood wasn't as laid back as I would have liked though.

Many people left as we strolled over to a pub called the Atlantic Trap & Gill. I always thought it was just a seafood restaurant, but it's actually a pub. Not just any pub-an Atlantic pub! That's right! I was home! There was a Newfie singing Maritime music. We sat on couches in the corner and downed some good old Keith's beer. Flags from all the Atlantic provinces were hung around the room. The pub was small, but had a relaxing, friendly feel. The waitress didn't ask us to pay right away. I forgot about that. People trust one another in a place like that. Melissa courageously sat with some older guys and motioned for me to join them. We sat in the front watching the Newfie do his thing. The guys were hilarious. They were trashed. One of them asked to take a picture of us with our camera. No harm. He then said on the count of 3 to lift our shirts. Yeah right buddy. lol We took it in stride and told him maybe in his dreams. Melissa told the singer that it was my birthday. In the last music set he sang the b-day song to me as I stood up and waived and drank Keith's in a toast to everyone. For the rest of the night I was the "birthday girl." I was wished "happy b-day" in the bathroom and even at the bus stop while waiting to go home. It was a fun-filled day-one I will not soon forget. I will definitely go back to the pub. I discovered that there is even one located in Edmonton. Yeah! I know where I'll be Saturday nights.

Canada Day -The Search for BC Pride

My first Canada Day on the west coast. Melissa and I dressed to the 9's in red and white and hopped the bus to Granville Island. (Aside: My poor NS sister was afraid that I may have to take a ferry to get there. I assured her I would be ok and that no ferry was involved in our travels that day). Surprisingly, not many people were wearing the Nation's colours. Weird. I was complimented on my Canadian Leaf bandana. The woman said she always wanted one and asked where I got it. I told her that she would have to travel to the otherside of Canada-I bought it in Cavendish, Prince Edward Island. lol. Granville Island was a hot spot. Maple leaf flags were given out left and right. There was lots to see and do. Melissa and I took in some music from the jazz festival and watched some buskers. Buskers = street vendors. BC people don't know what a busker is. lol

My San Francisco friends (Aaron and Jenn) joined us for the day. It was nice spending it with them because they were so happy that they will become Canadians shortly. We went to a nice lounge and sat back and chit chatted. Aaron asked a waiter what the soup of the day was and he smirkly replied, "It's carrot and something soup, but it's not my fault." With a wink he left. We laughed. A good guy to ask what we should get.

Following our time on Granville Island Melissa and I jumped back on the bus and headed home. We were lucky-only then did it begin to rain. We strolled down to the White Rock pier to meet up with a friend of Melissa's. We listened to some bands as we ate gelato. Yum! At 9:15pm it was still July the 1st in BC, but in NS it was 1:15 am July the 2nd. I then officially turned 24. Whoo-hoo! I downed a root beer. yes a root beer. We weren't allowed drinking out on the pier. Thirty minutes later we watched the spectacular fireworks over the water. Just for me-well for Canada's 138th birthday and my 24th birthday.