Here comes the rain

I feel like a fish who has just resurfaced to take a gulp of air. It's been busy. Stressful actually.I'm usually a very rational and collected but I've been seriously overcommitted this month.

I have a dress now. It's not pink but the palest shade of lilac. It's simple and silky and exactly what I was looking for. It even makes me look a little taller! The rest of the wedding plans are in hand, if not planned to perfection. I even know what the bride-to-be's name is now, which helps when you have to be the witness.

I've just looked out of the window. The rain is bucketing down like there's no tomorrow. Good thing I left early this morning. Rain usually depresses me but today it feels soothing.

Always the Bridesmaid never the Bride

In just over two weeks I am going to be the bridesmaid in a wedding that I don't approve of.
The groom is seven years older than me and the bride is seven years younger than me.
She is also to be my aunt, which throws my mind into absolute confusion and denial.
I suppose that I should be more open-minded and liberal but I'm struggling on that front.

At least my dress no longer has to be pink, though given my current lack-of-dress status, and the fact that I have too much work on to be shopping for one, even a pink dress may have been preferable. It's all too much for me to take.

Sigh.

Retrospective

I'm back!

It's been a helluva two weeks. Got back into Stansted at 5-30am, am now back at home, showered and feeling a little tired.
It was a little difficult to log my adventures since I was constantly on the move. In the last 14 days I have changed hotels 9 times. And of course, by the time I got myself to a PC of some sort, the moment had gone :)

So now that I am back and trying my best to refrain from jumping straight into bed, I thought I would do a little recap of my fortnight away.

Day One

Flight to Vancouver, on arrival was picked up by limo to our hotel. I was struck by the similarity of this city to Hong Kong island. Lots of wide open roads and shiny skyscrapers. Went to bed very early as was horrendously jetlagged.

Day Two

Explored Vancouver. Did the usual touristy things like visit the Aquarium (they had Beluga whales there which were really really cute), strolled around Stanley Park (was more like a 5 mile walk), Chinatown. We walked through the down and out areas of the city - gee, if this is as bad as it gets, then I'm moving here.

Day Three

First hotel transfer. We moved to a hotel about 3 blocks away closer to the harbourfront. Did some more exploring - saw the biggest cruise ships I have ever seen in my entire life. Can they really fill all these with people? I found out later that one of the ships I saw had been contaminated with the Norwalk virus. Wasn't quite so keen to go on it after that :)

Day Four

This was the day I had been waiting for. We boarded the Rocky Mountaineer which would get us to Banff in two days with a one night stop in Kamloops. There was a lot of excitement in the air as we waited to get on. I was bemused to see that we were the youngest group of passengers (with exception of a small toddler). There is a lot of fuss over this privately owned train, each carriage has it's own attendant who rushes around giving a running commentary on the sights in between dishing out snacks and coffees.
It took some 8 hours to get to Kamloops where we disembarked. On this day we had seen a total of 2 black bears (black specks in the distance), a bald headed eagle and lots of cows.

Kamloops is a smallish town with just under 90000 residents. I was expecting to find only a gas station and a corner shop but to my surprise there were lots of bars and restaurants. Whilst nursing a v+c at the local Irish pub, I pondered over the movies I had ever seen about people being born in towns like this and never being able to leave. I guess I could imagine it in a place like this.

Day Five

We resumed our journey into the Canadian Rockies. Saw some pretty funky sights and some breath taking scenery. Also spotted lots of osprey nests and 1 osprey. Still no moose and the only bear I saw was a loggerhead one :)
I was a bit tired of the whole charade by this point as there is only so much sitting and eating you can do in a day. By the time we got into Banff I was more than eager to go. Greeted by the resident mounted police we all piled into couches for hotel transfers and then stared open jawed at the castle-like Banff Springs hotel when we pulled up. It's like a fairy castle in the middle of snowcapped mountains. Equipped with multiple restaurants, shops, 5 pin bowling alley and an outside heated pool, I was in 7th heaven.
As if we hadn't eaten enough already, we spent the evening in a local fondue restaurant dipping strange meats such as rattlesnake, ostrich and buffalo into miscellaneous sauces whilst glugging the local brew. Fondues always brings back childhood memories of reading Asterix. Strange that.

Day 6

Went for a coach tour of local Banff. I hate coach tours, all that getting on and getting off the coach and taking photos. This one was much the same, waterfall here, mountain there, and yet another lake. Pile on, pile off. Toilet breaks. We were taken to this cave with a hot spring - $4 normal entry to see a smelly cave and some bubbling water. There were lots of signs warning us not to put our hands in the water (as if!) because there was a species of snail in the water that only existed in these particular pools. Makes you wonder if there is even any point in preserving a species that doesn't exist in the normal food chain.

The highlight of this day was a gondola ride to the top of Sulphur Mountain followed by a trek up to the top of the mountain. I really live for moments like these where I find such natural beauty that it takes your breath away and brings a lump to your throat. Yes I took pictures but I doubt that they could ever convey that moment as I lived it.

Day 7

Another transfer to Lake Louise. As I may have mentioned earlier, there is not much village to speak of in Lake Louise. There is the main lake (so named after Queen Victoria's daughter), the hotel which sits in front of it (Chateau Lake Louise) and the village, which is a 45 minute walk away. Thus we resigned ourselves to spending a very relaxing couple of days at the hotel.

The first thing we did was to indulge in some proper afternoon tea overlooking the lake. This was a very 'english' affair with cucumber sarnies and cream scones.

One thing to note about this hotel - it was used as the main set in the film The Shining. I was slightly freaked out when I realised the deja vu I was feeling on the way to my room was down to the fact that it was the same corridor as in the film with the twin girls in the white dresses...
"red rum. red rum". Brrr...

Day 8

So we thought it would be nice to go for a little hike after breakfast to Lake Agnes. It was a little tougher than we imagined as it was a good 3.5 miles each way, and uphill. I was pleased to discover that I am quite fit despite of my job and made it up in an hour. It was worth it - the lake was stunning - it also drained off as a waterfall into a smaller lake below it.

After that 7 mile trek we thought we'd go canoeing on Lake Louise. Unable to just sit in the boat and look pretty, I had to grab an oar and row. It's a lot more difficult than it looks!

Day 9

We were picked up by this lady coach driver who would be driving us to Jasper. She kept on yakking about the highways and the history of the roads. Luckily she wasn't driving for too long. On route to Jasper we stopped off a this place called Icefields Parkway which is actually on a glacier. We all boarded this funny coach on giant wheels which took us down onto the glacier itself and we all romped in the ice and snow like children. Since we had a special designated area to play in, it felt even more like we were in a playpen :) Strange to think that we were standing on some 300 metres of solid ice. On the way back to our highway coachwoman, we were shown these holes in the ice which turned out to be some 300 metres deep. For fun, the people that work out here climb down them......

Our hotel in Jasper was a glorified lodge out in the sticks. We were only due to stay for one night which was a shame as it was pretty funky. Each room is in a cabin of sorts and there is no fencing anywhere in Jasper to keep the wild animals out so all over the hotel there are signs warning about bears, cougars and rampant elk. September is elk mating season thus all the elk bulls are a little more ornery than usual.

Day 10

We were originally supposed to be picked up at 2pm to get onto the VIA rail train which would take us overnight to Vancouver. Unfortunately, we found out at the very last minute that there had been a derailment and that the train was not to be arriving until the next day. We could either wait for the train to arrive and stay another night in Jasper, or alternatively take a special coach back to Vancouver (which would take 12 hours). Hmmm. Tough choice. We called our tour operator to make all the arrangements and decided to relax another day in the hotel (which also had a jacuzzi and outdoor heated pool).

So after relaxing for the day on the lake and in the jacuzzi, we wandered out of our rooms at about 7pm to find some dinner. One of the most surreal things I have ever seen - about 4 metres away from our rooms was an elk bull munching on the grass. Luckily we were on the second floor so we didn't have to worry about it charging at us. We just stared at it chewing away happy as pie. It was most strange.

Day 11

It turned out that the train was due to arrive at 5am and therefore we had to be at the station ready to board at 4-30am. Needless to say I spent a lot of that journey sleeping. It was a 16 hour ride back to Vancouver - never again! I could have made it back in a few hours by plane. Hmph.

Day 12

Did more sightseeing in Vancouver - this time we visited the Capilano Suspension bridge and Grouse Mountain. The bridge is horrible, it's really long and wobbles all over the place when other people are on it. As expected I guess. Being terrified of heights, I hated it.
Grouse Mountain involved taking a gondola up the mountain. At the top, we couldn't see anything as it was a foggy day. However, they had 2 grizzly bears in captivity and also some wolves. We oohed and ahhed at these for a while. Amusingly, the wolves were ex-acting wolves used in films we'd never seen. B-movie wolves in other words :)

Day 13

Decided to visit Vancouver Island. It was a 3.5 hour trip but it was worth it - by the power of the internet I managed to book the hotel the night before for a bargain rate too! We got into Victoria about mid day and booked ourselves on a whale watching excursion for the same afternoon.
I'm getting a little tired of typing now but the whale watching was amazing - we must have seen at least 15 orcas in all - a number of which swam right past the boat about 3 metres away. We learnt that harbour seals are inherently stupid. There they are sat safe, high and dry on a rock. In comes a killer whale, seals start panicking and jump back into the water one by one. Seals get eaten. Now there's darwinian behaviour for you.

Day 14

Back to Vancouver to get ready to go home. Think I may have mixed up my days here but no matter. I'm going to bed now!

Stranded in paradise

This is going to have to be a quickie.

I am waiting in Jasper station waiting for the VIA train which was supposed to have arrived this morning and taken me to Vancouver this evening. Due to a derailment, the train was delayed by some 12+ hours and I was forced to spend another evening at the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge. Oh no. I can think of much worse places to be stranded :) So I spent the day relaxing in the jacuzzi and boating on the lake.
It was sumptious, for lack of a better word.

Unfortunately I have had to get up at 3.30am to get to the station for departure at 5-15am. I am therefore a bit sleepy still.

I still haven't seen a moose and my tour of the Rockies is over.Ah well. Better luck next time.

Spot the wild animals

I am now in Banff.

I spent two days aboard the Rocky Mountaineer with only one stopover in Kamloops.
It was a very interesting journey - no effort required aside from eating, sleeping and spotting wild animals. It reminded me a lot of our family car journeys when I was younger, counting number plates to pass the time. Of course, there was a little more camaraderie on the train, with some 35 people in our carriage trying to spot moose at 50mph. I was rudely awakened at one point; "Lindsey, quick, there's a bear!". It turned out to be two black logs.

Yesterday evening we arrived in Banff. Staying in the very plush Banff Springs hotel, with its golf course, spa and numerous shops and restaurants, there is not much to complain about. I took a gondola up Sulphur Mountain today and was overwhelmed by the beautiful vistas at some 9000 ft above sea level.
The town here is picturesque but borderline tacky. Too many shops selling cuddly grizzly bears and fake moose driving license plates. The scenery is spectacular though and it's quite unreal to be walking along with mountains all around.

Tomorrow I am off to lake Louise. There is nothing to do there except stay in the hotel and relax. Can't complain too much about that :)

Touchdown

It's my third day in Vancouver. I've finally managed to adjust to the local time here.
There was something very odd about flying out on Saturday morning, spending 10 hours on the plane but not seeing any darkness, and then landing on Saturday morning having to relive the whole day again.

Vancouver thus far has pretty much exceeded my expectations. It has all the elements that I live about this side of the world, without the things that I dislike. I mean, jam is called jam here. The people are friendly and living is as cheap as you want it to be. The roads are wide, the water is clean and there are japanese restaurants in abundance. Heaven! It's all cheap and good too.

Tommorrow I will be boarding the Rocky Mountaineer as part of my 9 day tour in the Rockies. Within these 9 days I hope to see a few grizzly bears, some moose, and perhaps a Mountie or two. I don't really know what else to expect - I have an itinerary but haven't read it. I want everything to be a surprise.

One thing I have noticed over the last few days is the massive population of orientals here, everywhere I go there are large groups of chinese, japanese and koreans. It's reassuring, for some reason.

Over and out.

Winding down

I knew that going for a quick v+c in the pub after work was a great idea. I still haven't packed,
but now I'm not in the least stressed about it :)

I have a Dominos pizza on the way and Radiohead on in the background. I'm sure that I'll manage to get everything done in time. All I need to remember is my passport and credit card.
So what if I get to Vancouver and find that all I've packed is a duvet and a string vest? :)

This could potentially be my last post for two weeks. I just want to remember how chilled out I feel now, this autumn Friday after a very long week at work. I think I could tolerate living the rest of my life feeling like this.

Working in the Menagerie

Apparently I have been called the Iron Lady by some in the office. Strange, I always thought that I was a pussycat but I guess you have to know the magic words.

It's beautiful and quiet in the office this morning. It's still early, and it's Friday. Hurrah for Fridays.

Speaking of animals, I recently spent an idle hour trying to match my colleagues to their animal equivalent. Thus far I have: a weasel, a badger (this is well known), a polar bear, a giraffe, a sheepdog, a chimp and a siamese cat. I'm thinking that this would make a fantastic cartoon..

Wax lyrical

I invested no small amount of money yesterday on some no-heat hair removal wax.
It's still sitting on the side. I weighed the idea of having smooth stubble free pins against the pain of ripping hairs by the ten dozen and Common Sense won out.
It's cold in Canada at the moment anyway :)

I wonder why we girls subject ourselves to this kind of pain? Do men really care if our legs are a little fuzzy?

Terminal Velocity

1 more day to go. I haven't packed, I haven't done my laundry, I am in no position to go on holiday for 2 weeks. What's happened? I am usually so well organised.
I am too exhausted to feel excited. I've just hit my 48th hour at work and Flip Flap is doing my head in.

Think I'm going to leave the office now and go home.

Wise words

A professor stood before his Philosophy 101 class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full? They agreed that it was.

So the professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles, of course, rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He then asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous - - yes.

The professor then produced two cans of beer from under the table and proceeded to pour the entire contents into the jar effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed. "Now," said the professor, as the laughter subsided, "I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things - - your family, your partner, your health, your children, your friends, your favourite passions - - things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full." "The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house, your car. The sand is everything else - - the small stuff." "If you put the sand into the jar first," he continued, "there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for your life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you. Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your partner out dancing. Play another 18. There will always be time for me to go to work, clean the house, give a dinner party and fix the disposal." "Take care of the golf balls first -- the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand."

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the beer represented.
The professor smiled. "I'm glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of beers!

Whatever happened to Poptarts?

It was the start of a beautiful morning when I stepped out of the door. The air was crisp and cool, autumn is finally here.It felt like I had turned to a new chapter in a book, and the plot had moved to new places. And then the sun came out!
So I am in a great mood today despite the fact that I have had the worst support day for months, and that I will have worked yet another 12 hour day come 7pm.

Today's thought turns to the smells that remind me most of home.
Home for me is the UK most of the time, but occasionally it's Hong Kong.
This morning as I was walking along the road to the station, I was overwhelmed by the smell of toast. Not so surprising, as it was 6.30am and I guess people would have been having their breakfasts.
The smell of toast is so British - it always makes me think of home. More specifically, it makes me think of B&Bs, and holidays in the countryside or seaside.
For Hong Kong, the smell is sandalwood incense. My grandparents burn it twice a day to honour our ancestors. With that smell brings heat, noise and the gentle breeze of a fan circulating the air around my grandma's tiny flat.

Hmm. Just trying to think of the smell that reminds me of this office. Starbucks coffee maybe :)

Thus spake the fieldmouse

Remember the Timmy/Milly fieldmouse problem?

Well, Milly did tell Timmy her feelings for him. Timmy was troubled as he had never considered anything more than friendship but the evil seed was sown. Plus Milly was quite an attractive fieldmouse at that. Timmy decided that the best plan of action was to ignore the problem.

And the ending? Milly told Timmy that she was no longer going to talk to him as she thought that he was treating her as a substitute girlfriend.

Yeah, the female race is strange. There is no real logic to their actions. I wish I could explain why I do things but aside from the silly things that I do under the influence of alcohol (champagne in particular), I can't.

Consonant please Bob

I'm in Countdown mode this week. This time on Saturday I will be at Stansted Airport waiting to get on my flight to Vancouver. The excitement hasn't quite hit home yet thanks to the person who has put me on support this week so I will be doubly glad to get away.

Someone told me last week that the weatherman had forecasted a beautiful hot September in London. This past weekend tells me that this is obviously not the case. Therefore I have no misgivings about going off to cooler climes where the bears and moose roam.

Speaking of moose, I damn well hope that I get to see one. There is something very appealing about them - perhaps it's the sheer size, or the sheepish expressions they have (wonder where that expression came from, sheep never struck me as having any notable facial expressions). Thus far, the closest I have ever come to a moose, is on a dinner plate in Sweden. I don't recommend it.

Insomnia

Curse the evil drink. I have the sultry words of Maxy Jazz spinning in my head this morning.
What hope is there for me with such gluttony and vice staining my soul? Curse you, Perignon for my suffering.

Bikini Barbie

Following on from my last post - I've been thinking about what it would be like to be
really small, like pocket-sized. I used to love reading the Borrowers as a child (haven't seen the movie so I can't comment on that).
I could ride around in people's pockets and spy on people from behind the clock on the mantlepiece. As a job I could charge people to help them cheat in their exams. I could make a whole meal out of a slice of peperoni.

I did dwell for quite a long time on the sort of clothes I'd be limited to wearing. I mean, Barbie has quite a good selection to choose from, and the dolls these days are very fashionable indeed but how about underwear? I've not yet seen any slinky lingerie for Barbie (though I have to say that I've never really looked). Plus I think I'd get really tired of plastic shoes. And I can't even contemplate how much scarier spiders would be...

Reality Check

My world was shattered this morning when I found out that I am, in fact, only 5ft 2 inches tall when I had always told everyone (and thought) that I was 5ft 3.5 inches tall.

So I am off this lunchtime to buy some killer 4inch heels to make up for it.

Monkey see, monkey do

I love the feeling of rediscovery.
It's not the startling surprise of discovering something new, but rather a very pleasant feeling that sits somewhere in between deja-vous and the feeling when you see and recognise an old friend. Not sure if that entirely makes sense.

The context here is a book that I bought last week, Non-Fiction by Chuck Pulahniuk. Yes, the guy who wrote Fight Club. Creative genius, and storyteller of eyebrow lifting proportions. Except in this book, the stories are real.

I often think that I should have been a psychologist. Or at the very least, studied psychology. I am fascinated by the way that people think and act. I am an observer by nature and will happily just listen to words forming sentences forming conversation. It's pure music. With some people, the words gush at a constant rate and then pause, as if to catch up. With some people, the words accelerate until they reach a climax, which can sometimes lead into a dramatic pause and finale, or just stop dead. Someone I met recently, their words remind me of a fish, darting in and out of the anemone, intermittent pauses for breath before flitting off again.
I'm digressing a little but no matter. The point is, I discovered once that I loved this writer's imagination, and now, I love even more his way of thinking.

Remember, NEVER GET A CHIHUAHUA.

And today's word is..

I learnt a new word today.

Numpty
Scottish usage:
a) Someone who (sometimes unwittingly) by speech or action demonstrates a lack of knowledge or misconception of a particular subject or situation to the amusement of others.
b) A good humoured admonition, a term of endearment
c) A reckless, absent minded or unwise person

a) "No. That wisnae wit she meant, ya big numpty!"
b) i.e. "Silly billy", "You big dafty"
c) "That numpty's driving with no lights on!"

I'm not sure how I'm going to manage to fit this into the conversation but what a great word!
I can think of a fair number of people who might classify as one :)
Just got to practise my scottish accent....

Thursday night in

I don't remember the last time I was in on a Thursday evening. It's nice :)

Today I wish that I was somebody else just for the day. I'd even settle for being able to look through someone's eyes like in Being John Malkovich. Sometimes I feel very tired of being me.
Wouldn't it be great if I could wake up every morning and choose the person I wanted to be? Someone different every day.

I suppose that if I 'forgot' everything that happens the day before then that effectively gives me that option. Sounds like the plot of a film ;)