After arriving last Monday afternoon, waiting for 40 minutes and being issued a visa in less than 5 minutes I was back! It really did feel like I came home. But I guess it was home for almost 18 months. It's a weird feeling though when you don't have a place to live or a job or any real security except for the people you know.
I arrived safely at my friend's Zoe and Matthew's place who have kindly allowed me to spend a couple of weeks on their sofa bed while I get settled.
Day 1 - Tuesday
I did all the boring stuff, like re-opening my bank account, getting a social insurance number (SIN - like a tax file number) and telephone number were all sorted out. They all seem to take hours though. Waited an hour at Service Canada for my SIN, must have been at the bank for about an hour, and then went downtown to get my phone number. Went with a different company and I forgot how crap the phone plans are compared to ours. But I am now contactable. :)
Tuesday night I had organised with one of the ladies I know who works at the gym I used to go to get a free pass...but I thought stuff it and joined instead!! It's nice to have some sort of stability and I know a lot of people that go there. It was really lovely as some people had no idea that I was coming back and they were really happy to see me. Following that I was supposed to catch up with some other people at the movies but as I hadn't really committed by the time I got to the theatre it had sold out! (apparently the movie was crap - it was called Crimson Peak). Anyway, I went to my favourite sushi place on Granville St and texted another friend who said they were home...and apparently lived just the next block over! It was awesome to catch up with Helena, Sam and Adam again. :)
Day 2 - Wednesday
Before I arrived, while I was in LA, I had emailed one of the temp companies I got regular work for and they got back to me pretty quickly. I had a meeting with them on Wednesday. It all seemed pretty positive and they already had a suggestion for a job at a marketing company. But they needed some time to talk to them first.
I also caught up with another mate Ahmed for a great lunch eating delicious pizza and then that night caught up with my friend Jess to see the movie The Martian. Awesome movie except for the fact we were in the front row for 2.5 hours looking at a massive Matt Damon. I do recommend it though. One of the most exciting things happened when we were walking home and we saw a skunk!! Neither Jess nor I have seen one before. Us 2 aussies were super excited!!
SKUNK!!! Right by the courts in downtown Vancouver.
Day 3 - Thursday
It was supposed to be more of a chilled day, I was going to spend some time at home house hunting, go to the gym and go for a walk. Some of this happened, I house hunted and sent a few emails and heard back from some of them, then after I came home from the gym I thought I'd go for a walk. But while out I received a call from the temp agency to say the marketing company wanted to meet with me. So I had less than an hour to get myself downtown to see them. They seem nice enough but honestly I'm not too sure about the position.
In the meantime I had received an email from one of the places to meet up with them that night so after another gym session (omg who am I, I never go to the gym twice in a day!!!) I got some take away and headed home. However, while waiting for the take out I noticed I had received an email for an interview for a position at the UBC Faculty of Health as a program assistant. It really is all happening!
After a quick bite, I met with the Aussie couple who were renting out their room. They were nice enough but unfortunately it wasn't suitable. That's ok, I wasn't too worried!
Day 4 - Friday
Not too much happened on Friday either but I did go and have a look at a place in East Vancouver. It was really nice and the girl was lovely but it was just a bit too far out!
I also received a message from one of my friends Olga, to ask if I wanted to go hiking on Saturday...um hell yes!!
Day 5 - Saturday
It was an early start as we were to meet downtown at 8am. We went hiking at Joffre Lakes which is north of Whistler and about a 2.5 hour drive from Vancouver. It was so good as I caught up with people that I hadn't seen since January and also met some new people.
It was such a good day and the lakes are gorgeous. There are 3 of them and it wasn't till we got there I had realised I had been to the first lake when I did a tour a couple of years ago. It only took an hour to get to the second lake and then we hiked up to the third one.
It was absolutely freezing (about 3 degrees) so was all layered up...except the problem is you get super hot and sweaty from hiking up the hill! The views were absolutely worth it though!
The whole group. Don't let the pic deceive you. It was really cold!
(Photo courtesy of Tzveta)
The lakes in Canada are truly breathtaking!!
I was supposed to be back in Vancouver for my welcome back dinner/party at 7pm. But traffic is always terrible driving back to Vancouver. We made it downtown at about 6.50pm! I had no time to change, so changed my shirt and pants in the Fairmont Hotel bathroom and tried to freshen up a bit! Classy!! After a delicious Thai dinner I rushed home, had a shower and met everyone back at a bar where we stayed till all hours! It was a good night. :)
Day 6 - Sunday
What can I say. It was a pretty nothing day. Very much a recovery day from the day/night before so I vegged out. As I had an interview today, I did some prep and had an early night.
Day 7 - Monday
It's only part way through the day and I had a job interview this morning. Not counting my chickens but I think it's looking good! Just have to get responses from my references I think and hopefully I'll start soon. But more on that when it's 100% confirmed. :) Not bad for being in the country for a week. Honestly it feels like I've been here for a really long time already!
The rest of today has been more house hunting which is not that exciting. Catching up with a former work colleague for dinner tonight which should be great!
I'll try and not write too many long blogs but sometimes it's just easier to do it all in one and also when there's lots of news!
Until next time! :)
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