by Annie | Jul 7, 2010 | Other
I had my first experience with Canadian healthcare today. Well, not Canadian healthcare proper, but I was injured, and a Canadian cared for me and helped me regain health. I’d say that counts. On my way to school this morning, I realized that I’d forgotten to remove the lights from my bike last night. Dangerously close to being late, I frantically tugged at the lights, forgetting that they had release switches. Swearing under my breath, I managed to yank off the rear light. One down. The front light was a little more stubborn. I was about to give up when I decided to make one last attempt. One hard jerk later, the light was free, taking along with it a chunk of my left index finger. The chunk, while not huge (~4mm in diameter), was just large enough to draw a decent amount of blood, enough to stain my bike gloves and be annoying. Thus, without a band-aid handy, I alternated between gripping the handlebar and sucking on my bleeding finger during my ride downtown. When I arrived, I couldn’t find any staff members to beg for a band-aid, so I settled for the security guy. Figuring he would point me in the direction of a first aid cabinet or the student services office, I was shocked when he grinned with excitement and pulled out a duffel bag full of first aid supplies. “I’ve trained extensively for this,” he explained, eager to assess my injury. With purple latex gloves on, he carefully cleaned the wound, warning me of possible stinging, and followed up by applying a fresh band-aid. As...
by Annie | Jun 20, 2010 | Travel
How do you turn a 3-hour trip into an 8-hour one? By leaving something important behind, of course. On our way back to Vancouver from Seattle, we decided to stop in Bellingham, two hours north of Seattle and just south of the Canadian border. Why? Because Bellingham has the only Chick Fil-A in the state of Washington. Round and round we went, weaving in and out of the quiet residential streets of suburban Bellingham with only an iPhone to guide us toward the fast food beacon. Unfortunately, as we soon discovered, iPhone maps are a little less than accurate when it comes to tiny suburban streets. More than one street the iPhone promised as a through street ended up leading straight into someone’s driveway. Several minutes later, we made it onto the campus of Western Washington University, home of the Vikings and a branch of Chick Fil-A. Unfortunately, classes were out for the summer and the campus was almost completely desolate. Nevermind. Back to the highway toward Vancouver. Until… [iPhone rings] Bad news. Joe’s work computer was left behind in Seattle. Two hours later, we were back in Seattle to pick up the computer, then turned around and headed back toward Vancouver. Four hours into the trip, we were back at the starting gate. We just had too much gas in our car, that’s all. Felt we should release some to the environment so our car didn’t have to work so hard on a full stomach. It was the only responsible thing to do. All in all, I suppose it’s good to know we could travel to Seattle several...
by Annie | Jun 13, 2010 | Other
Due to the relative scarcity of squirrels in Vancouver, Sofie has taken up a new pastime: seagull chasing. She has yet to grasp the fact that wing power can outmaneuver her four short legs any day, so she expends lots of energy in the hunt. In the spirit of the sunny day, we did some hiking in the Endowment Lands, a gorgeous 14-square-kilometer area of forest and beaches just west of the Vancouver city limits. As soon as the leash came off, the hunt was on. Slow…one step at a time…sudden full-on seagull chase! Stop to gulp seawater. Back to the chase! She did come close a couple of times, but I don’t think she would’ve had the slightest clue what to do had she actually caught up with...
by Annie | Jun 9, 2010 | Other
It’s hard to describe how elated I am to finally sleep on a real bed after almost 3 weeks of sleeping bags and hard ground. After a late start, I spent most of the morning staring quizzically and turning my head one way, then the other, at various Ikea instructional diagrams for our new bed frame. There was also much squinting and head scratching involved. Slowly but surely, the thing came together. Later in the afternoon, an Australian delivery guy dropped off our mattress, made to order from the Bedder Sleep Store where we’d tested out several mattress options last week. The mattress we chose was the one I nearly fell asleep on while testing. Fitted with pocket springs and a firm foam core, it’s ready for the sleeping. Sweet dreams,...
by Annie | Jun 8, 2010 | Other
What did people do before Craigslist? Every few seconds, at the click of a button, you can find several new listings for everything from fish tanks to RVs. In my quest to furnish our rather empty apartment, I’ve been scrutinizing every listing, trying to picture each item within the hodge podge of our new knick knacks. It always amazes me how valuable people think their items are and, sometimes, why they purchased said items in the first place. Take, for example, this “Leather Peach Couch”: Question 1: Why would anyone make this? Question 2: Why would anyone buy this? Question 3: Why would anyone buy this used? In addition, the listing titles can often be deceiving. Don’t be surprised when a click on “Vintage Loveseat – $400” leads to a picture of a saggy wingback chair with a faded floral pattern or “Modern Coffee Table – $125” actually refers to a strange contraption with only a small semblance of a flat surface. The ads often proceed to explain how much the items originally cost, as if that’s an excuse for the exorbitantly high prices they’re demanding for the items in their current state. Perhaps my favorite listing of the day was for a beige “microswaid” couch. Craigslist is also notorious for bad spellers. So far, my Craigslist hunt has netted me a microwave and several sofa scoutings. Who knows what tomorrow will bring? That’s the beauty of...
