Giving winter a bad name

Today everyone remembered why they fled the east. Transit slow-downs doesn't begin to describe the situation at UBC. The line in the picture is about the first quarter of a much longer and more annoying one waiting for the bus. They're having trouble clearing the streets, and now the freezing rain/rain/slush have started in earnest. Woo hoo. Tomorrow is my last class though, so maybe I won't have to go outside after that.

Giving winter a good name

Winter got a good name today in my books. I went to see the Polish ambassador give a speech today, which I would characterise as "lacklustre." However, it was a nice gesture of his to come at all since it meant we got another catered lunch.

Who says it doesn't snow in Vancouver?

I got to miss my lone class today because of snow. Shades of white Juan? Not quite. But valuable anyway. Plus our pipes froze. The cold water to the shower froze, so I had to call in my long suffering landlord to blow-dry it. Other than that, still working away on CAP papers, which are getting longer and more rambling by the day. Tomorrow I'm off to get a business card holder engraved for our long-suffering director. We're presenting it to him at his dinner party next week. Speaking of which, we went to a film tonight and HH + the other weird new prof were there too (though seperately)! The one who did the lecture about money in song. Conclusion: Money is important to culture, but just how? meh... who knows. Now let's listen to some more Chamillionaire. I'm going to miss HH when he leaves. He's probably the best prof I've ever had... well, maybe not as good as Curran ;-) Curse those rich Danish head hunters.

Rockin' the social network (again)

Facebook me!

These three are having too much fun

Ha ha. now you know what I'm doing now that I have to write papers. Wait until the end, it gets funnier.

gonna get my money's worth

I sat outside to do some reading today, just to prove I could. This mentality must help to explain why Vancouverites are so keen to sit on patios, porches, and various outdoor cafe set-ups, even in the harshest monsoon downpours. If they can find a tiny perch that isn't getting completely drenched, you can be sure to see people sipping their lattes outside, despite the fact that its really very cold, their hands are turning blue, and their newspaper keeps blowing away. Its also obligatory to maintain a rudy good disposition about all of this, as if to underline how nice the weather is in Vancouver. Its like Canadians abroad trying to prove how immune to the cold they are. These hapless idiots won't wear hats or gloves for anything, unless it gets to be at least ten degrees colder than it does at home. Or who sit out in Parisian cafés, sticking to the metal chairs and loudly exhorting everyone to join them. Or maybe they're just Vancouverites.

Centennarian Cuban

I heard a funny story on the radio about a 106 year old newfie living in Cuba. She moved to Cuba in 1924 after marrying a rich American philanthropist, and they went down there to play classical music. Her husband died four years before the revolution, and she's lived in the same house since then. Apparently Jean Chrétien and Castro both went to her hundredth birthday, but she couldn't remember Castro's name!! She misses Canada but not the winters.

Trenchfoot

After days of downpour it finally did clear. For a while...

November 5, 2006

Its November, so Vancouver is finally living up to its name as monsoon capital of Canada. Thank goodness, it would have been such a disappointment otherwise.

I'm developing a love/hate relationship with school. Sometimes its fun and interesting, and sometimes I just can't keep my eyes open, and can't wait to get a job and earn a bit of money, and be free from the constant tyranny of after-school obligation. I'm so interested in Korea these days, in a way that I never was while I was there. Now I suddenly want to enroll in Korean history classes and learn to write properly. I have so much more respect for all thing Korean now that I'm separated from them. I can't believe how much I've followed the cultural alienation seven steps thing... From interest and overwhelmement on arrival, to frustration and anger, to acceptance and then back to interest. Its hard to know if I miss my life there, with its easy money, easy life, easy travel, crazy neighbours, adventures and so on, or if I actually miss the Korean culture itself.