Hey, guess who's taking a break from homework to finally update this - wait, what do they call it again? oh yeah - blog? That would be me. Sorry about the extended absence; my free time tends to get sucked up by chores or trying to get as far away from my computer as I possibly can. (Preferably somewhere outside and oceany.)
Anyway, here's a quick rundown and some of what you missed in the past three months (or at least what I can come up with right now):
- My week-long break from school at the beginning of July was nice, if way too rainy. I didn't do much of note (that was the idea), although Shane and I went in for a couple's pedicure at one of the fancy spas on West Fourth (the yuppie part of town). That was a riot, since it's very much not the norm for either of us.
- When my second term of school started, I made a point of sitting in a new seat. That change has been really good, as it's allowed me to get to know more students and feel less isolated. The program has finally been getting into the web design/development in the past couple of weeks, and I have really been enjoying that. (Even JavaScript! Who knew?)
- After spending the first half of the term in the (required) video class for my program, I realized two things. One, I was not going to learn ANYTHING new. Two, I was going to waste WAY too much time on projects for that class. I went out on a limb and asked the program head if I could drop the course, and it turns out I could! Now I am just waiting for my St. Thomas credits to transfer, which hopefully will go through fine.
- For my birthday, Shane and I went out to eat at a new Thai restaurant here called Maenum. Both the food and drinks were amazing, and I can't wait to go back and try more of the delicious curries and cocktails. (Mmm, coconut-flavoured anything.)
- At the end of July, my mom and brother came out here to visit for a long weekend. Shane and I had fun being hosts for the weekend (we don't get to play that role enough!), and we made a point to get out and be active. We biked and hiked around town (the weather was perfect), although probably not enough to burn off all the food we ate over those three days. My family also got to experience a rarity that weekend: a Vancouver thunderstorm! Even better, a Vancouver thunderstorm during the annual Celebration of Light fireworks show. Awesome.
- In related news, Shane and I came home from the final fireworks show of the summer to find six people trapped in our (small) apartment elevator. Our landlord was not around, so we helped keep everybody calm until the elevator repairman could arrive through all the post-fireworks traffic. We managed to crack the door open, pass in ice packs and playing cards, and set-up a fan to blow some air in (did I mention this was happened during a heat wave? it was HOT here). It took about 75 minutes for the guy to get here, but eventually everyone got out.
- My latest obsession is with the bagels from a local bakery here called Siegel's. They are not kidding about having "possibly the best bagels in the world." Seriously. We've been buying a dozen bagels a week, meaning I have pretty much been eating a bagel a day for the past two months. DELICIOUS.
- Shane bought a new laptop recently, and thus my 2005 desktop PC was finally put to rest. Or at least put into our basement storage until we can figure out a place to donate it.
- Last weekend, we went out to BC's equivalent of a state fair: the PNE (Pacific National Exhibition). You may recall we went with Carrie to this event last year, when we saw the Superdogs show for the first time. (Okay, nobody but Carrie probably remembers that.) Well, we went back to the Superdogs show again this year, and it was even more hilarious. One of the performers this year was a tiny, tiny Yorkie named Pocket Rocket. Every time Pocket Rocket came out on stage (to compete in the obstacle course or just run around), the contrast between her and the other, bigger, built-for-agility dogs made me laugh until I cried. I cannot even tell you how much that sight tickled my funny bone. Good times.
That's about it. Now back to my regular homeworking...and counting down the days until my next week-long break (in October, when we will be joining Jon, Shannon, Joe and Carrie in California for a long weekend, yay!)
June was quite a good month to be Shane, as several exciting things happened during that time. First off, we had our yearly company satisfaction survey at work. To encourage as many employees as possible to take it, they distributed a raffle ticket to each employee and had a daily prize drawing. The winner each day got to choose an item from the big box o' prizes. I won on the third day and selected a very nice Port Metro Vancouver jacket. It came down to that or a foot-long Toblerone bar...I think I made the right choice.
On June 12, I ran in the Longest Day 5K, which took place on the UBC (University of British Columbia) campus. After my half-marathon earlier this spring, I decided to take advantage of being in good running shape and attempt to break my PR (Personal Record) in the 5K, which was 22:45. My goal for the race was 22:00, and I ended up running a great race and finishing in 21:24, blowing my previous time out of the water.
I probably won't try for another PR in the 5K, only because running a race that fast is not really fun. You're pushing yourself the entire time and concentrating hard to maintain your speed. There's really no chance to look around and enjoy yourself. Longer races are more up my alley. Still, it felt really good to finish that fast!
Finally, I flew back to Minnesota the last week of June to go on the annual baseball road trip with friends. Details (and pictures) are coming soon in a separate post. Stay tuned!
Since I spent most of May not blogging, here's a random update to kick off June. (You're welcome.)
- I
bought a bus pass/student ID holder at the dollar store last month to
use in my commuting. It is awesomely: a) originally from Korea (and
came with a subway map of Seoul), b) called a "Multi-Trance Pass"
(pretty sure they meant transit), and c) has a picture of a cartoon dog
wondering, "Are you happy?" on the front. (Answer: yes, but only
because of this pass holder.)
- Shane accompanied
his tennis partner, Etienne, up to the Lynn Headwaters in North
Vancouver recently to get some fresh mountain spring water. They
stopped by the side of the road and simply filled up some jugs from an aquifer there. It was easily the best water I've ever tasted.
- The
herons have been back for awhile now, so we are well within the months
of late-night heron brawling (which sounds not unlike a ten-car
pile-up) and all-night chirping heron babies. Ah, nature.
- Two of my seven classes ended last week, so I can now enjoy five weeks of
no schoolsleeping in on Fridays. Woohoo! I plan to savor this time, as the term after this is supposedly downright horrid.
- The
weather here has been ridiculously beautiful lately. The sun has been
shining, the temps have been warm, the breeze has been cool and the
bikinis have been plentiful.
- With all my recent
school-inspired hoodie-love, Shane decided he wanted to give hoodies
a shot. In the past couple of weeks, he purchased three new stylin'
hoodies, all of which look fabulous on him. Love it!
- Our new favourite joint along Denman Street is the place that moved in to the old Cupcakes location: Qoola.
They sell a fantastic frozen yogurt (among other goodies, including
loose-leaf tea) and the majority of their trash is biodegradeable.
(Compost that!)
- Shane is gearing up for a 5K PR (personal record) on June 12th. He's been training to beat his old record while running a race out at UBC (on a Friday night, strangely). I have been training to steathily sneak myself some of the post-race veggie burgers. Yum.
I normally don't follow sports of any kind, but it's been impossible to remain oblivious to the current standing of the Canucks (Vancouver's NHL team) in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Signs are posted all around town exclaiming "Go Canucks Go!" (this message even appears on the digital displays of public transit buses), and newspapers proclaim the outcome of each game in big headlines on the front page.
It's crazy how intensely hockey fever is gripping this city. The Canucks jerseys, hoodies, T-shirts, hats and flags are out in FULL FORCE everywhere. I've even had instructors these past couple of weeks condone students checking the score (and in one case, actually watching a game) during our night classes. I guess they know the puck doesn't stop with them (haha).
Sadly, the Canucks are down 3-2 in their 7-game series against the Chicago Blackhawks. As much as I wish them well in Game Six, I'm really just hoping my car doesn't end up on fire if they do get eliminated tomorrow night.
After a threat of first 90%, then 30% chance of precipitation, race day morning dawned perfectly cool with a mix of clouds and sun. Not a drop of rain was in sight. (Thank you, Vancouver!)
Shane and I left the apartment just before 6 a.m. to head to the race start (on the other side of downtown). We drove over to park in Shane’s work lot, as it’s located right next to the Skytrain, which we planned to take the rest of the way (my monthly transit pass allows me to travel with an extra passenger on Sundays, woo!). We arrived at the starting line around 6:20, giving us plenty of time to use the Port-a-Potty and stretch.
The half-marathon group lined up as we got closer to 7 a.m. (the official go time for the race). We jumped in around the middle of the pack, both of us feeling a lot of nerves at that point. I was anxious about running my first half-marathon; Shane was feeling the pressure of meeting his ambitious time goal (1:45). But soon we were flowing with the massive, 6,000-strong crowd toward the start. We wished each other well and set off on our individual journeys to The Black-Eyed Peas “Pump It” blaring over a pair of gigantic speakers.
I felt good from the beginning. All the time spent tapering (not to mention the pure adrenaline of finally running this long-planned-for event) gave me an extra bounce in my step as we moved into the Gastown portion of the race. I thought maybe I was running a bit faster than my anticipated 2:15 pace time, but I didn’t know for sure. (Nor did it really matter; my primary goal was just to finish.)
Around the 10km (or 6-mile) mark, the route followed the seawall leading into Stanley Park and then hopped up on the road that circles the park (Park Drive). This was when I started to feel nervous again, as the infamous Park Drive hill to Prospect Point was coming up. Prospect Point is essentially the highest point in Stanley Park, and veterans of this half-marathon will tell you this long, steep climb to the top is intensely challenging (especially being located in the middle of the race).
Thankfully, since Shane and I had done a training run on this hill, I was able to reach the crest without any issues. It also helped that some amazing spectators were lining the road, yelling encouragement at the top of their lungs (supportive words can do wonders for tired legs). And the downhill on the other side? That was almost worth the pain of ascending (almost).
Soon I hit the 10-mile mark and began running along Beach Avenue. A large crowd had gathered by English Bay Beach to cheer us on, so that was a nice boost. I definitely struggled as we entered the last 3km (about 2 miles remaining). My calves were burning like they’ve never burned before, but I knew we were close, so I pushed through the discomfort. And sure enough, soon the end was in sight.
If you’ve never experienced the finish line of a race, it is simply incredible. The enthusiasm from the assembled crowd and the pick-up in pace by just about every runner out there is electrifying. I flew through the end, crossing the finish with my arms held high and cheering as loudly as my tired lungs could handle. I recently heard this moment described as empowering, and I couldn’t agree more. I felt like I could take on absolutely anything.
Shane and I met up within minutes of my finish, both with the AWESOME news that we had done better than we’d hoped. I managed my first 13.1-miler in 2:05:24, ten minutes faster than I expected to be (holy cow); Shane broke his half-marathon PR by nearly six minutes, completing in 1:43:12 (well under his goal). Outstanding!
We then made our way back to Shane’s work to shower up - a logistical decision made because we had reservations in the restaurant just above Canada Place at 11:30. This particular place - Café Pacifica in the fancy Pan Pacific hotel - is known in Vancouver for its extravagant (and yes, expensive) brunch buffet, which we were eager to partake in.
After logging the longest distance I’ve ever run, that food tasted especially delicious. There were freshly-squeezed juices, assorted pastries, salads, fruits, sushi, dim sum, stir fry, salmon and sole, bacon and sausage, (every kind of) meat and potatoes, omelettes and eggs Benedict, and the most beautiful dessert spread you can imagine. We lingered there for a couple of hours, taking our time through four (yes, four) separate buffet trips. It was a wonderful way to end what was truly a spectacular morning.
And - as you might expect when everything goes so perfectly according to plan - it wasn’t long before we were discussing when we might want to train for another half to do it all over again.
One of the highlights from last weekend for me was finding this backpack ON SALE in my favourite colour (blue). I love buying backpacks - I think they are to me the equivalent of what purses are to (some) others of the feminine persuasion. And this one's been working out perfectly so far.
Turns out I have to maintain a blog for one of my Term 1 classes at school, so you can now also find me at: BCITisha. I'll be updating this at least weekly (it's homework! ha!) until the term finishes in early July.
School officially started for me last week, but it was a nice, slow start. I had my aforementioned class - System Admin for Mac - that got me ready to go with my fresh-off-the-plane Macbook Pro (they actually had to do a last-minute rush order for us, since the first shipment crashed off the coast of Japan!). The lectures were computer/Mac 101 stuff (read: not too difficult), and the assignments were all done in class. We even got out early on the last day, which was awesome. If school was always like this (particularly the part about receiving a BRAND NEW AWESOME LAPTOP on day one), I would never want a job. Ha!
Using public transit each day was quite slick as well. Travel does take about an hour total (as predicted), but I found it simple to switch from bus to Skytrain and back to bus again. It can be crowded during the rush-hour times, but nothing some music and/or Rachel Maddow/Radiolab podcasts can't help me overcome. I think I'll be able to handle it the 2-3 times a week I commute that way.
This week is the start of REAL classes and all that comes with it. I will definitely try to update the blog when I can - let you know how school is going, what my classmates are like, how Shane is coping with doing laundry for the first time in nine months - but I'm making no promises as to when. From here until next April, any blogging will be bonus. (Hopefully Shane will "pick up the slack" as he intends!)
Every year my employer participates in a fundraiser for the Big Brothers of Greater Vancouver called Bowling For Big Brothers. This year, I chose to participate because 1) I'm an actual big brother (to Lucas and Amy), and 2) I'd never bowled in Canada. The theme was 'outer space' and they encouraged costumes, so our group decided to dress up as the Men In Black, meaning white shirt with black tie and sunglasses.
At the event, we bowled a couple of games and enjoyed free pizza, compliments of the Flying Wedge. I also found out that Canadians are terrible bowlers. My co-workers were calling me "The Ringer", because I showed some semblance of form, and after I told them I participated in league bowling in my youth, they looked at me like I had two heads. Apparently, bowling isn't the blue-collar rage here that it is in the States. However, they did tell me about another common variety of bowling in Canada that uses only five pins and a smaller ball that doesn't have finger holes. Tisha and I might have to try that out some time.
Thanks again to those who donated!
