And of course on the last day, I get sick

It stopped snowing last night long enough for us all to go out for dinner. We went to a Greek place down by the beach; it was pretty quiet, no doubt because there were six inches of snow on the ground and apparently that's more than this area usually gets in a couple of years.

Dinner conversation was fun: apparently there are parts of Canada that are so desperate for workers that even the local McDonaldses will pay $25/hr just to get people in, sometimes also offering signing bonuses. Now, I have no desire whatsoever to step foot anywhere near those golden arches for any reason, even if they're paying me, but it got me thinking. Maybe I can get a job up here somewhere after all. I had an interview with a school in Japan last week that I think went pretty well, but it sounded like I won't hear back for a little while longer. I've wanted to see Canada for a long time. I've said for years that it seems like the kind of place I could enjoy living. After visiting for the last couple of weeks, I think I might be on to something. I think I'll have to look at what's available and what's involved in getting a work visa....

After dinner we came back and lounged around for a while before bed. Brij and I watched some Seinfeld; I can't remember when the last time I actually sat down and did that was, but it has to have been at least a good 5 or 6 years ago. I developed a tummy ache and drank some tea so hopefully I'd be comfortable enough to sleep.

Everything was fine until about 5am, at which point I woke up suddenly and decided I'd better head for the bathroom. My belly was all gurgly and weird-feeling, and I remembered feeling like that sometime in the not-too-distant past, but I couldn't think of when it would have been.

After making it to the bathroom and relaxing  and doing my thing, it suddenly hit me... India. India's where I'd felt all that tummy rumbling. Ugh. That's one thing I don't miss.

I decided to lie down on the couch in the living room so I'd be close to the toilet should I need it again and looked outside. The snow was piled up on the patio, on the tree branches, but none was falling from the sky. In fact, the clouds and fog had cleared up so much that I could clearly see not just the ocean but the lights across the bay. It was beautiful. I sat myself down on the couch with a glass of hot water and admired the view until I felt like I could fall asleep again.

That's where we are now... I'm still on the couch; the stomach pains come and go. What a way to spend my last day in Canada, eh? We were hoping to take a trip up to Whistler because apparently the view is incredible, but with big fat snowflakes falling out of the sky once more and everything blanketed in fog -- not to mention the roads being covered in snow -- it doesn't seem worth the trip. Maybe next time.

Liebster

The snow has been falling here in lower BC for over a day now. It's fluffy, and it's piling up. Too bad it's covering up all those buds on the trees...

It sure is pretty, though.

It's so foggy we can't even see the ocean.

I spent the morning watching Indian movies and poorly made commercials, and knitting mittens. I think there's sushi on the way now. I've also heard rumors of Greek food for dinner.

In the meantime, I thought I'd catch up on old blog comments. I really am an all-star at procrastinating. A few weeks back, my friend Teri mentioned my blog on hers as part of a nomination for a Liebster Award. Part of the "rules" state that I'm supposed to in turn nominate ten other blogs with fewer than 200 followers, but I'm going to come right out and admit the only blog I've ever followed for any length of time is that of The Yarn Harlot, and I know for a fact that she's got way more fans than that. Besides, I haven't even been keeping up with her in ... damn, I think it's been about two years now. Sorry, Steph!

Anyway, head on over to Teri's blog and check out what she's got. 

Snow days are movie days

You know how I'd said it was kind of interesting that most of the time I've spent in Canada has been warm and sunny? Well the weather gods must have had a change of heart because this morning we woke up to snow. It's been coming down all day, though it doesn't seem that much of it is sticking. The flakes are big and soft and wet. It's pretty, and arguably more Canadian than the balmy upper-40s we've been experiencing lately.

Last night a bunch of us went out dancing at a local bar. I think the last time I did that was the night before Verity left McLeod Ganj, so I was well overdue. You know it's been a good night when you get home with your feet aching and your ears ringing. The DJ was so-so; I did hear some Nine Inch Nails, but other than that it wasn't anything I was familiar with. The rest of our party seemed to be more up on the hip-hop scene, so I think they enjoyed it. Regardless, a fun time was had by all. Brij definitely stole the show with his sweet moves and leopard-print shirt he'd had made back in Dharamsala. I mean really... how do you top that?

This morning Brij's mom invited me out to see a movie. It sounded like fun and I average about one movie in the theater per year, so off we went...

... to the local Rialto Theatre.

We saw the movie Philomena, which I'd never heard of but stars Judi Dench and Mita said all of her friends who'd seen it gave it rave reviews. I actually love watching movies where I have no idea what to expect; you can really get lost in the story (assuming it's well-made), and you don't go in with expectations. I also have a weakness for true stories -- there's something inherently moving about watching a film and pausing for a moment to think "wow... this really happened." It makes some movies, like Blood Diamond or Django Unchained (I know, I know.. not entirely historically accurate, but enough of it was that I had to turn it off halfway through), more difficult to watch, but in general I dig it.

That being said, if you also like story-driven movies based on true events and high regard for Dame Judi Dench and/or a dubious view of the Catholic church on top of it, you'll probably enjoy this one.

As for the rest of the evening, I think I'll stay in and knit.

Surviving Snowboarding

This blog post comes to you from Highway 99 heading toward Vancouver on a bright, sunny, beautifully warm day in Canada. The mountains are covered in trees and snow, and clouds obscure the tops.

That’s right, I said mountains. For a girl from Illinois, they just never get old.

Speaking of mountains, a bunch of us went up to one of the local ones, Mt. Seymour, on Monday evening to snowboard. Monday nights are Ladies’ Nights, which means each of us girls gets in for only a $5 donation to the BC Cancer Foundation. Brij gave me his brother’s gear to use – a few pairs of socks later and even the boots fit pretty well – so we didn’t have to rent me anything.

See the mountains in the back?

Getting closer...

Snow + fog = almost there.....

Long story short, I choose to gauge the success of the evening not by how flawlessly I was able to ride down the cute little “bunny hill,” but rather by how many fewer times I fell on the last run as compared to the first. Going by that criterion, I’m pretty satisfied. I suppose it wasn’t too bad for someone who’s never snowboarded or skied in her life. I did whack my head on the ground pretty hard the first few times I fell (yes, I had a helmet), but after that it was my glutes and wrists that took the worst of it.

I think I rode down that hill about 6 or 7 times in the 4ish hours we were on the mountain, including the first two where Brij was giving me a crash course – rather literally – in snowboarding. By the end of the evening I was able to make it almost to the bottom without wiping out, instead of every few feet the whole way down. A considerable improvement, if I do say so myself. I would have gone down one more time but my muscles were completely wrecked and there was no way it was going to happen.

The next day, yesterday, was spent almost entirely lounging at home recovering. Everyone in our party had sustained some kind of injury and I, being a complete noob, was really hurting all over. It was so bad I couldn’t even sit up from lying on my back because my neck was sooooo sore; I had to roll over and push myself up with my hands. Today I woke up feeling considerably better. I’m not sure if it was the rest or the fact that I broke down and took a couple of Extra Strength Tylenols, but I feel like I’m on the way to recovery.

This morning, the sun was shining and the wind had died down, so we decided to head into Vancouver for a day in the city. So here we are, driving up the highway. Stories and photos to follow.