Saturday, December 31, 2005
Any plans for a white christmas were well and truly defeated by what has been described as a Hawaiian breeze which has seen temperatures in and around 10c for most of the last few weeks. Great.
I actually got two Christmases (Christmi?)this year owing to a very kind invite from my frined Terrence's mother to celebrate in the Polish tradition on Christmas eve. Being a Catholic country they forgo meat on the 24th as on Fridays so I got to sample perogees and many fish based salads and cold dishes. It was sort of like mexican food without the salsa and folding but very tasty. I was even included in the gift exchange which was extremely genererous. Too much sitting round the fire and Terrence's gift for mixing rum and eggnog made for drowsyness so we left at about 11 so as to avoid seeing santa. Back at mine the upstair neighbours were still up so we put a head round to say Merry Christmas only to end up playing darts and listening to black sabbath until 3 in the morning.
Christmas day itself was pretty entertaining. I had intended to go to church but misjudged the walk considerably and left late because my secret santa gift need finishing. When I did arrive I mistook the smile I received for a hearty christmas wlecome, it was more in the line of see you in 3 minutes for coffee. I did get half of Hark the Herald Angel and the Dismissal so it wasn't a complete wasted effort.
The plan for lunch was for 15 of us to go Chris & Debs (congratulations), Simon and Andy's house for a roast dinner at 1. Unfortunately the oven gave up that morning and the landlord had to be called out. He offered to take the food to his mum's house but in the end called the neighbours and let us in to their kitchen to cook. As Ian rightly pointed out, this is like the Christmas day episode of a sitcom except you can't eat canned laughter. I was pretty redundant in the cooking of things so wandered out to phone Jen, an ordeal in itself since one pay phone gave up and the nearest one was a 4 block walk.
Before any of that I was hailed by a Chinese lady having trouble with the air pump at the gas station. Having offered to help it turned out she was trying to pump up two inflateable cushions for her Ktisalano rat dogs (high maintainance handbags) so they could see out of the windscreen. If it is any indication of size the dogs were called dinky, mimi and cissy. The latter actually sits on a lap cushion. In the end I blew them up by mouth and was rewarded with 6 beers which had apparantly been for her brother-in-law. That must have been an interesting conversation later.
Dinner eventually arrived at 6 by which time most people had held it together by eating sandwhiches and watching channel 4 which was showing a looped video of a yule log burning all day. Oh the drama when the bepearled hand appeared to add more fuel. My secret santa gift was very kindly thought out from ideas on this page, thanks Ellie and whoever taught me to write. The dinner was an enormous success and the pictionary was as competitive as hoped for.
I actually got two Christmases (Christmi?)this year owing to a very kind invite from my frined Terrence's mother to celebrate in the Polish tradition on Christmas eve. Being a Catholic country they forgo meat on the 24th as on Fridays so I got to sample perogees and many fish based salads and cold dishes. It was sort of like mexican food without the salsa and folding but very tasty. I was even included in the gift exchange which was extremely genererous. Too much sitting round the fire and Terrence's gift for mixing rum and eggnog made for drowsyness so we left at about 11 so as to avoid seeing santa. Back at mine the upstair neighbours were still up so we put a head round to say Merry Christmas only to end up playing darts and listening to black sabbath until 3 in the morning.
Christmas day itself was pretty entertaining. I had intended to go to church but misjudged the walk considerably and left late because my secret santa gift need finishing. When I did arrive I mistook the smile I received for a hearty christmas wlecome, it was more in the line of see you in 3 minutes for coffee. I did get half of Hark the Herald Angel and the Dismissal so it wasn't a complete wasted effort.
The plan for lunch was for 15 of us to go Chris & Debs (congratulations), Simon and Andy's house for a roast dinner at 1. Unfortunately the oven gave up that morning and the landlord had to be called out. He offered to take the food to his mum's house but in the end called the neighbours and let us in to their kitchen to cook. As Ian rightly pointed out, this is like the Christmas day episode of a sitcom except you can't eat canned laughter. I was pretty redundant in the cooking of things so wandered out to phone Jen, an ordeal in itself since one pay phone gave up and the nearest one was a 4 block walk.
Before any of that I was hailed by a Chinese lady having trouble with the air pump at the gas station. Having offered to help it turned out she was trying to pump up two inflateable cushions for her Ktisalano rat dogs (high maintainance handbags) so they could see out of the windscreen. If it is any indication of size the dogs were called dinky, mimi and cissy. The latter actually sits on a lap cushion. In the end I blew them up by mouth and was rewarded with 6 beers which had apparantly been for her brother-in-law. That must have been an interesting conversation later.
Dinner eventually arrived at 6 by which time most people had held it together by eating sandwhiches and watching channel 4 which was showing a looped video of a yule log burning all day. Oh the drama when the bepearled hand appeared to add more fuel. My secret santa gift was very kindly thought out from ideas on this page, thanks Ellie and whoever taught me to write. The dinner was an enormous success and the pictionary was as competitive as hoped for.
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
A hard day at the grind 
Hawwwwwkeeeeey
Better Things
Me
Ice Hockey on Lost Lake 
The only Place Whiter than Whistler
Your mother was a snow blowerFriday, December 16, 2005
Christmas has been slow starting in Vancouver, for me at least. No school holiday to impose the end of the year and no Christmas songs are getting played at the cafe, at least not in block rotation. The boss has failed on 3 seperate occaions to put up the fairy lights so we are keeping it lo-maintenance. My room mate has been a more seasonal influence, buying lights and some really quite special sweaters. All of this changed recently however with a trip to Narnia.
Between the Whistler and Blackcomb mountains you can follow Edmunds foot prints from the Gondola to the WItch's house. Alternatively you can strap on your board and traverse the glacier bowl through a few feet of snow, cutting fresh tracks then wind down about 2000 feet on the narrow ridge run. Probably the most beautiful place I have ever been.
I am sure I wont be top of anyone's 'people I pity in 2005 list', but I was blighted by techinical failures. Of the two riding days the first ended with my right binding inverting so my leading foot was in a dangerous position. As far as I know this is only possible with a screw driver but somehow it happened without my notice. Tuesday I lost an hour because my toe strap snapped just before lunch, then having replaced it I got up the first 400 feet of lift to discover the heel ladder was gone. Blunt fury abounded, at a tremendous risk to my impending visit from Santa Clause. The guy in the shop was working an angle with a female colleague so I tightened up the new strap, having had to pay for the first one, and just said "call it a hard luck bonus". I have no idea if he heard.
With just an hour and half of lift time left, they stop just after 3, I got two fairly long runs in. The last of which actually took me down 4000 feet to the village. Although the snow is still early season there are snow canons, they have a fearsome artillary when you factor in the t-shirt bazukas, which meant there was a lot of fresh snow to ride on. If you don't believe me that they make snow in Canada then I will put a picture up. For the purists out there, I can tell you that it looks, rides and tastes like snow but all the snow flakes are identical.
Yesterday was a return to the relative mundanity of coffee shop life. There was some drama added by the inquest in to who had failed to freeze $400 worth of soup that had now gone bad in the stoor-room. Long answer everyone, because we all walked past it. Short answer, me, because I signed for it. In my defense it was a hectic weekend and I couldn't rember when it arrived, luckily the representaive turned up with a photocopy of the mandate, neatly initialed PDS. I offered to pay for it but the boss was very kind and din't even fire me, which he would have been well advised/within his rights to do.
Let that be a lesson: Generosity the true meaning of Christmas
Between the Whistler and Blackcomb mountains you can follow Edmunds foot prints from the Gondola to the WItch's house. Alternatively you can strap on your board and traverse the glacier bowl through a few feet of snow, cutting fresh tracks then wind down about 2000 feet on the narrow ridge run. Probably the most beautiful place I have ever been.
I am sure I wont be top of anyone's 'people I pity in 2005 list', but I was blighted by techinical failures. Of the two riding days the first ended with my right binding inverting so my leading foot was in a dangerous position. As far as I know this is only possible with a screw driver but somehow it happened without my notice. Tuesday I lost an hour because my toe strap snapped just before lunch, then having replaced it I got up the first 400 feet of lift to discover the heel ladder was gone. Blunt fury abounded, at a tremendous risk to my impending visit from Santa Clause. The guy in the shop was working an angle with a female colleague so I tightened up the new strap, having had to pay for the first one, and just said "call it a hard luck bonus". I have no idea if he heard.
With just an hour and half of lift time left, they stop just after 3, I got two fairly long runs in. The last of which actually took me down 4000 feet to the village. Although the snow is still early season there are snow canons, they have a fearsome artillary when you factor in the t-shirt bazukas, which meant there was a lot of fresh snow to ride on. If you don't believe me that they make snow in Canada then I will put a picture up. For the purists out there, I can tell you that it looks, rides and tastes like snow but all the snow flakes are identical.
Yesterday was a return to the relative mundanity of coffee shop life. There was some drama added by the inquest in to who had failed to freeze $400 worth of soup that had now gone bad in the stoor-room. Long answer everyone, because we all walked past it. Short answer, me, because I signed for it. In my defense it was a hectic weekend and I couldn't rember when it arrived, luckily the representaive turned up with a photocopy of the mandate, neatly initialed PDS. I offered to pay for it but the boss was very kind and din't even fire me, which he would have been well advised/within his rights to do.
Let that be a lesson: Generosity the true meaning of Christmas
Monday, December 12, 2005
Dun Dun Dunt Der, Dun Dun Dun Dunt Der, Diddle Det Det Der. Hockey!
Last Friday I finally got to GM Place for a Vancouver Canucks game. And not just any game, a trans-conference top the NHL clash with the Ottawa Senators, the 100th straight sell out crowd. For such a stop/start game it works pretty well as a live spectacle due to igenous crowd pleasing tricks such as using a bazuka to fire t-shirts in to the stands and having a whale blimp that drops prizes. Because it was an all Canada tie they sang the national anthem, Oh Canada, which was a new one on me. Apparantly it doesn't go "Oh Canada you see by the light of the dawn...". Local pride was also stirred up by a video on the 8 sided jumbo-tron hanging over the ice of how great Vancouver is. My personal favorite thing is the way they make the players appear all friendly inspite of the fact you have just watched them try and seat their opposite number somewhere through the glass. This takes the form of showing them going into schools and letting the kids teach them to read, and visiting hospitals. Waking up to find a 6' 6" hockey player standing by your bed is as ubiquitous in the experience of Canadian children as knowing you are sick in the UK because there are badly drawn Disney characters everywhere.
Having only seen the game played once in the UK (where the Sheffield Stealers downed the Nottingham Pansies), on tv and in an excellent series of movies (check the Christmas Radio Times) it was difficult to follow the play. The jumbo-tron helpfully had one blacked out square that meant even on replays it was nearas impossible to see where the puck had gone. The on ice personnel changes very rapidly and there is no commentator saying when a particular line was on the ice, i.e. the top line of best players. The most exciting passages of play were when one of the teams was short-handed ( a player in the penalty box) since the other team can just work the puck out and take a heap of shots. The game ended 2-2. It was scoreless in overtime then a shootout, a new addition for the 2005/6 season. The guy next to me helpfully said that this was the first time in GM Place history, I was just proud to say I was there to witness it. The Canucks won in suddden death after a 1-1 tie. 20,000 people went off there collective faces since there isn't any away supporters owing to Ottawa being 40 days dog sled ride from Vancouver.
Last Friday I finally got to GM Place for a Vancouver Canucks game. And not just any game, a trans-conference top the NHL clash with the Ottawa Senators, the 100th straight sell out crowd. For such a stop/start game it works pretty well as a live spectacle due to igenous crowd pleasing tricks such as using a bazuka to fire t-shirts in to the stands and having a whale blimp that drops prizes. Because it was an all Canada tie they sang the national anthem, Oh Canada, which was a new one on me. Apparantly it doesn't go "Oh Canada you see by the light of the dawn...". Local pride was also stirred up by a video on the 8 sided jumbo-tron hanging over the ice of how great Vancouver is. My personal favorite thing is the way they make the players appear all friendly inspite of the fact you have just watched them try and seat their opposite number somewhere through the glass. This takes the form of showing them going into schools and letting the kids teach them to read, and visiting hospitals. Waking up to find a 6' 6" hockey player standing by your bed is as ubiquitous in the experience of Canadian children as knowing you are sick in the UK because there are badly drawn Disney characters everywhere.
Having only seen the game played once in the UK (where the Sheffield Stealers downed the Nottingham Pansies), on tv and in an excellent series of movies (check the Christmas Radio Times) it was difficult to follow the play. The jumbo-tron helpfully had one blacked out square that meant even on replays it was nearas impossible to see where the puck had gone. The on ice personnel changes very rapidly and there is no commentator saying when a particular line was on the ice, i.e. the top line of best players. The most exciting passages of play were when one of the teams was short-handed ( a player in the penalty box) since the other team can just work the puck out and take a heap of shots. The game ended 2-2. It was scoreless in overtime then a shootout, a new addition for the 2005/6 season. The guy next to me helpfully said that this was the first time in GM Place history, I was just proud to say I was there to witness it. The Canucks won in suddden death after a 1-1 tie. 20,000 people went off there collective faces since there isn't any away supporters owing to Ottawa being 40 days dog sled ride from Vancouver.
Monday, December 05, 2005
The sky above the clouds
The back country
Good things
Ozomatli's En Floor
Snow on 17th
December arrived last week and with it the snow. Where I work has several large windows so it is very festive to be able to watch it falling all day on Christmas shoppers. It actualy began in Earnest last Monday which came as something of a surprise since I had just left the Ozomatli show at the Commadore Ballroom. The band finished the set by forming a conga line and playing through the audience winding up on the main stairway. To go from Sunny California to freezing Canada was much like walking through a warddrobe door without the benefit of a fur coat.
I also saw the super furry animals last week with a very good band called Caribou. It was at that Richards on Richards place again so as ever a good atmosphere although I think anyone from outside of the UK would have been at a loss as to what the very Welsh lead singer was talking about between songs. Ice Hockey is now the primamry entertainment since I have a ticket for the Canucks vs Ottawa Senators (NHL leaders) on Friday then for the Edmonton Oilers on the following Saturday with my room mate. Hockey tickets are like gold dust since they all go on sale in September except if you are a member of the YHA in which case you can get them at face value (20-25 sterling) as they are gradually resold to tourists. I could probably get about $120 for my ottawa ticket but at the cost of all my Mighty Duck/Street Hockey fantasies.
The most useful by product of snow in the city is heaps of powder on Cypress Mountain where I went for the 3rd time last Friday. It was minus 10c at the bottom of the runs and colder still once you were enveloped in the mist at the top. The highlight of the day was the opening of the very top chair for the first time all season which meant that weaks and weaks of unridden snow had all amassed. It was beautiful. I managed to do some intermediate runs for the first time all though the ones on the windward side had some pretty substantial ice build up since all the poweder gets blown away. It snowed throughout much of the day and I was without goggles which was pretty uncomfortable. In the end I borrowed some from lost and found, having forst scored some honesty points by handing some car keys I had found. I had to leave my drivers license as a deposit, library cards not being acceptable. I am planning to go to Whistler for 3 days next week if I can secure a floor to sleep on.
Work is gearing up for Christmas with various new drinks such as eggnog latte (truly, truly, disgusting) and snow flake mochas. There isn't a particular policy on christmas songs but I am sure they are coming soon. Its our staff meal tomorrow before a fair few members of staff go home whilst I am only working until the end of the year. My resignation wan't too devestating although it was immensly satisfying to say "I have to go down to California then around the world". Considerations of whether to say it was for artistic reasons were best left in the pub.
I also saw the super furry animals last week with a very good band called Caribou. It was at that Richards on Richards place again so as ever a good atmosphere although I think anyone from outside of the UK would have been at a loss as to what the very Welsh lead singer was talking about between songs. Ice Hockey is now the primamry entertainment since I have a ticket for the Canucks vs Ottawa Senators (NHL leaders) on Friday then for the Edmonton Oilers on the following Saturday with my room mate. Hockey tickets are like gold dust since they all go on sale in September except if you are a member of the YHA in which case you can get them at face value (20-25 sterling) as they are gradually resold to tourists. I could probably get about $120 for my ottawa ticket but at the cost of all my Mighty Duck/Street Hockey fantasies.
The most useful by product of snow in the city is heaps of powder on Cypress Mountain where I went for the 3rd time last Friday. It was minus 10c at the bottom of the runs and colder still once you were enveloped in the mist at the top. The highlight of the day was the opening of the very top chair for the first time all season which meant that weaks and weaks of unridden snow had all amassed. It was beautiful. I managed to do some intermediate runs for the first time all though the ones on the windward side had some pretty substantial ice build up since all the poweder gets blown away. It snowed throughout much of the day and I was without goggles which was pretty uncomfortable. In the end I borrowed some from lost and found, having forst scored some honesty points by handing some car keys I had found. I had to leave my drivers license as a deposit, library cards not being acceptable. I am planning to go to Whistler for 3 days next week if I can secure a floor to sleep on.
Work is gearing up for Christmas with various new drinks such as eggnog latte (truly, truly, disgusting) and snow flake mochas. There isn't a particular policy on christmas songs but I am sure they are coming soon. Its our staff meal tomorrow before a fair few members of staff go home whilst I am only working until the end of the year. My resignation wan't too devestating although it was immensly satisfying to say "I have to go down to California then around the world". Considerations of whether to say it was for artistic reasons were best left in the pub.
