And We're Back

It's been a while, but I'm back from Vancouver. Can I take a moment to just say how much I like that city? It's great. It's just so much more alive than anywhere in my home province. Way much more to eat, to see.

And it's almost always cloudy, overcast, or raining. As a person who hates the sun and burns fast, this is a great blessing.

It's nice not having to walk around wiping your face every other second.

But seriously, that's pretty much what Erin and I did. We'd wake up, go out and find an interesting place to have lunch, go run around the city, eat some more, return back to her place, and then pass out.

One time we went and bought a box of donuts and ate that for dinner while watching TV. This is how you know you're an adult. When you can get away with eating atrocious things for dinner and not being reprimanded.

There were a few interesting things that we tried out while in Vancouver though, asides from our rampant gluttony. On the internet, there are games known as "Escape Room" games. Basically, you are trapped in a room and you need to use tools and hints within the room to break out.

Someone made real-life versions of such scenarios and they are a lot of fun. We grabbed one of Erin's friends to do one with us and we failed miserably. As in, we couldn't get beyond the second room.

If anyone else wants to try, I suggest running down to Exit if you're down there. Let me know how well you did with Lost Ship.

Erin also tried the Laboratory scenario with her family and failed.

But now that I'm back home, I have a whole slew of stories to share with you guys. Such as my health issues and how I hurt myself, my plans for the fall, and the creepy stalker from work.

Oh, and despite all my eating in Vancouver, I somehow managed to lose 5 pounds. Yay. Go me.

On Vacation

Man, I've been bad for keeping a steady posting schedule lately and I apologize for that. Things were hectic before, during, and after the wedding. We've been having tons of dinners and outings with our new cousin and getting to know the new side of the family.

Actually, I've lost about 5 pounds simply because my eating schedule has been thrown completely out of whack. It's a bit of cognitive dissonance really because I look and I feel bigger but my scale says something completely different.

Yay.

Oh, and I'm on vacation as well if you couldn't tell by the title.

And will continue to be for another week or so. I'm back visiting my friend Erin again in Vancouver. I guess I didn't pester her enough last year so she decided to invite me back for a second round. More shopping, more eating, and more relaxing.

Though not relaxing enough to allow us to do many online activities as opposed to passing out in our respective beds.

I don't look as adorable as that.

Though this time around she had a few unexpected projects from a client pop up so I'll be left to my own devices. I'm hoping to pop by a gym and get a proper workout done. Pushups, sit-ups, and lots of walking aren't the same as doing bench presses and squats. I'd rather not lose another 5 pounds while I'm here.

An unexpected benefit of having Erin be busy is that I'm meeting some of her coworkers. If things go well I may have a job offer or two lined up for me in the future. And if not, it doesn't hurt to make a few connections while I'm in the area.

I'll see you guys when I get back.

A Vacation

The idea of traveling has always appealed to me. I like visiting new places, seeing cities that are actually alive and not dead compared to mine. But the cost of traveling anywhere is anything but appealing. I guess I've been fortunate that my parents have always been willing to pay for virtually everything whenever we've traveled.

Still, I've always wanted to travel on my own, I just could never afford it. Nowhere that far anyways. But maybe it's a good idea not to travel that far, get some practice running around on your own first somewhere closer to home.

Better to say this in your own country rather than in a foreign one.

So when my friend Erin invited me to stay at her apartment for a week or two it was quite tempting. She lives a province over, so a roundtrip ticket would be less than $400. I don't have to spend additional money on room and board, we both know the her city decently well, and she's a good friend. So it's not like I'm going to go there and wake up in a dumpster with both kidney's missing.

And before anyone tells me to make a move on her, I'm fairly certain that she's not into men. If you know what I mean. It's a shame though, I think she's kind of cute.

Even if she does dress like a hipster.

The idea is to head out sometime near the end of June, celebrate her birthday with her, and then head back home. I've actually already ordered and received her birthday present. I'm still looking into plane tickets and she's looking into booking time off.

And I think the time away from home would be good for a bit. The last time I was on my own for an extended period of time from my family was back on an old school trip years, and years ago. It's not like I have a full-time that's preventing me from going anyways.

 

And the one that I wanted to hear back from has still been silent.

If anyone has any traveling advice they want to share it be appreciated. Same with living with someone else for the first time. Because asides from family, I've never experienced anything remotely similar to a roommate. And I'm not even a roommate in this situation, more of a guest I guess.