Day 3: The Day of the LoCost

The last day of the year. I was going to move in tomorrow. Two large, heavy bags, one briefcase and a rucksack – there was no way I would get all my stuff there using public transit. I needed a car. Thank Galaxy for my MacBook ... a quick Google search yielded about five car rentals in the vicinity.


Dude, where's my car?

Rain was falling while I tried to locate the first car rental service. But either I had been blind, or it had stopped operating, or I was just handicapped by my fever – I couldn't find it. No way. However, I did find a metal unicorn:

While on the lookout, I literally stumbled into the second business on my list: Lo-Cost Rent-A-Car. While they copied my ID and driver's license somewhere in the back, I looked around the office. Small, battered, lo-cost. But boy, everything's so different here. The way the old-school phone looked like, the smell of old paper and machine oil, the shelves, folders, lights ... even the height of the room: again another Just-Like-in-the-Movies moment. Wonderful, now I even get a kick out of regular Canadian offices. It doesn't take much to make me happy.

Behind the steering wheel of a well-serviced Hyundai Accent I returned to the hotel and waited. At 3 pm sharp I phoned my mother and wished her a "Happy New Year!", 3 pm being 12 am in Germany. She seemed in good spirits.


"I get around ... from town to town" (Beach Boys)

I decided to go Downtown and have a general look around. If you got a car – why not use it? So I went. And smooth it was. The first thing that hit me: drivers really respect the tempo limits. That makes for some relaxed driving. (If you've ever been to Germany you'll know how the opposite feels like.)

 

I crossed Lionsgate Bridge, entering North Vancouver, but soon returned to Stanley Park and parked the car at Prospect Point. Rain, rain, rain. And not the warm kind, mind you.

Crossing Lionsgate Bridge

Lionsgate Bridge, as seen from Prospect Point in Stanley Park

Burrard Inlet

Ships mooring in Burrard Inlet

My ride

Mister T commands the ship. Confusion ensues.

I made one more stop at Third Beach and finally tried to get back to Richmond. Tried. You see, my Lo-Cost car was equipped with a Lo-Cost navigation system: me. Usually rather reliable, but it has its flaws from time to time. Now here's one thing I noticed: the absence of road signs. I don't know why ... might ruin the beautiful scenery, or something like that. Sure, there are some signs here and there, but if you're new to the city and don't have the map memorized ... you're gonna get lost. Soon I found myself cruising the "dreaded" East side, a former no-go area. I took two turns and went down a dimmly lit street, expecting to bump into a zombie any time. (Think Lo-Cost dinner ... but for whom?)

Anyways, I finally made it back to Richmond. I decided to drive directly to the IMAX movie theatre and watch Avatar in 3D on an IMAX screen ... it doesn't get any better than this. I knew where to drive, and was already on the street leading right to it ... but Lo-Cost struck again! "Gotta turn right some time ... what's that ... right arrow ... uh, gotta go right? Now? Oh really?"

"Oh wait ... that's ... that's the ... I'M ON THE HIGHWAY, GOING SOUTH!" Now, once you get onto the highway, there's no turning back. I went through a tunnel and found myself in ... Delta! Yay! See the upper blue marker? That's where I was supposed to be going. See the lower marker? That's where I was! AAARRGH! (@_@)


View Lost in a larger map

Now here's a new neighbourhood to visit! "Don't worry, take the first exit and get back onto the highway from the other side. You should be fine." Great plan – the only problem: there was no way to get to the other side. "Alright, just go straight then, it'll come." Do you know that feeling when you messed something up, and at first you're cool with it, but the longer it takes ... and suddenly you're like ... "FFFFFFUUUUUUUU.........!!!" So I had a nice 15 minute drive through Delta until I finally made it back onto the highway.

Some more searching, and I finally arrived at the IMAX. What a large complex, wowza ... oh, yeah ... aaaaaand the show is sold out. Now who would have expected that ... d'uh. Still, New Year's ... hey, you guys should have a life, and go party, and like ... NOT be at the movies tonight? Right? ;-) I didn't want to see any other movie, so I left.

On the way back I went to the place where I was going to live starting tomorrow and took a picture. Large house, looks nice. I returned to the hotel, with a slight fever. Made it without any detours this time. Still, total time being lost today due to my Lo-Cost-ing: over an hour. Applause! (^^)//


The Last Supper (of 2009)

I still hadn't eaten anything. With the help of another paracetamol I left the hotel, in search for food. I would have tried Wendy's, but it was closed. The Vietnamese Noodle place: closed. One of the ubiquitous Asian restaurants? I strolled passed them, and they were all bursting with guests. All Asian guests. I imagined that if I went there, as soon as would enter, all conversation would stop. The only sound would be that of chopsticks dropping. ;-) "Now that's the fever talking ... alright, it's McDonald's then. Your taste is gone anyways."

"I'll have the Quarter Pounder with cheese." (Hey Jules!) What a classic line ... :-) While I sat there I wondered whether the vending machines at the hotel sold beer. On the other hand I could take the car and look for a liquor shop. And find myself in the outskirts of Seattle? No way. I was tired of all the driving. But I could at least have a beer or two to celebrate New Year.

Just so you know: the vending machines at La Quinta Inn don't sell beer. I sat on my bed, drinking camomille tea, watching TV. Midnight came aaaand ... nothing happened. No fireworks? No fireworks. What's up with that?!? A little Lo-Cost, if you ask me. :-)

So that was 2009 ... here's to 2010! \(^_^)/


(Just in case you were wondering about New Year's: (A) no deeper thoughts than usual – believe me, I had gone through the year ahead many a times already; (B) no New Year's resolutions – I never make any.)

Day 2: Mister T changes continents. Jet lag ensues.

My eyes opened and I knew that was the end of my sleep. Within seconds I was wide awake. "Please let it be 5 am. Not 4 am." I turned to the clock.

Clock: "1:00"
Me: "You must be kiddin me."
Clock: "No. Just doing my job. Deal with it."
Me: *sigh*

Jet lag was hitting hard. Now if that was the only effect, then I could be okay with it. According to Mr. Wiki, you can also suffer from headaches or dizziness, so ... fingers crossed. Mr. Wiki also said the best thing is to stay in bed and force your body into the new rhythm. OK. Where are the sheep?

I had hours to spend in bed. Enough to let your mind wander. It didn't go far, staying with my body instead. Is that a sore throat? Undeniably, yes. Hmmpfh. Is that a headache? Yup. Could it be, and I could be going out on a limb here, that your long awaited cold is finally coming to catch you?

I had been expecting this. I mean, come on, the last time I had had a cold must have been around February. Usually, I get a cold twice a year: first when it gets cold, and then when it gets warm again. (Which really sucks because weather finally starts to get better and I'm usually spending some days in bed.) Now ... I skipped Cold #2 2009. There was so much going on, quitting my job, emptying the apartment, seeing friends in Germany, a quick trip to Paris, final preparations for Project Canada 2010 ... no time for a cold there, eh? But your body does not forget. As soon as pressure subsides, you go down. And down I went.


Business as unusual

Still, I couldn't let that cold interfere with my Big Master Plan. I took some tablets against the sore throat at 2 am and waited for sunlight. "I'm spending too much time in darkness. My vitamin D levels must be down by now." (Hey, who's that talking?)

I finally got out of bed at 7 am, took a paracetamol to lower the fever and get rid of the headache and had breakfast down in the lobby. I had tea, orange juice, eggs, cereals with milk, waffels with syrup, an apple and a yoghurt. That should help it ... need a healthy breakfast, even though the ship goes down. Especially when the ship goes down.

After a quick shower I took the SkyTrain, withdrew big cash again, returned to the hotel and picked up the other half of the money and went Downtown, heading straight to the Apple Store. Bought a MacBook Pro 15", a sleeve and the printer for free. Wait, not for free. You pay first, then you fill out a form and get a rebate later. Hmm, didn't expect that. Let's see ... how much cash do I have on me ... UUUH! Close call! I could pay, alright, but if it had been ONE more dollar I wouldn't have been able to pay! Wowza! Lucky me! :-)

Now this printer ... it's ... not exactly ... lightweight. Man, I got a fever already and now I got to carry this damn thing all the way?!?!? FFFFUUUUU ........ I made it. In one piece. Without being robbed. It's one thing to carry $2k with you, concealed in your jacket, but another to carry it with you in hardware, right on display. I figure my pretend-Karate-moves wouldn't have helped me in a case of emergency.


Time Machine – a blessing

Booted up the MacBook, connected my Time Machine backup HDD and within two hours I had my system and data up and running, just the way it was before I cleared my iMac. And you know what? Get this: even the clipboard contained the text I had last copied! Respect, Apple. Respect.


Supplies for a Zombie, or: Where's the Dude?

When a cold hits you, you need to have the stuff necessary to make it as bearable as possible. So out I went again ... grocery shopping. There's a Canadian Superstore ... YES! Just what I needed, a grocery store. And a big one, too. And again a Just-Like-In-The-Movies moment. I expected the Dude to come around the corner, milk in his beard, with that Zen smile of his.


Loaded with camomille tea, mandarins, apples, bananas, water, and a ready-made sandwich, I trodded back to the hotel. Sandwich for dinner ... why not. Why spend money in a restaurant when everything you eat tastes like paper anyway?

I made a pot of tea with my room's little coffee machine. Took hours, but better than nothing. The fever had come back and I was cold. My nose was running and my throat was stuffed with razors.

And then a thought entered my dazed mind: What would T the Zombie do on New Year's Eve, feeling like this?

Day One

Time to get started. There are some crucial things which one should address ASAP: telephone, bank account, social insurance number and a BC driver's license. The driver's license is not that important, but it's a well-accepted ID and you need it anyways if you're staying for more than six months. Sooooo ...

This morning, I first called up close family members to let them know that I've arrived safely. But let's get out there now and get serious. Did I say serious? Right, we're opening a bank account! So wear a shirt and a nice pullover and put on a smile. (Ok, that wasn't too hard.) Equipped with my briefcase, looking all serious / happy / businessy, I took a stroll into Richmond's center. First impression: shopping malls all over the place. There's probably nothing you couldn't find.


Gimme, gimme, gimme a number ...

First stop was the Richmond Centre Mall. I had already decided to get me a pay-as-you-go cell phone plan from Rogers, for the time being. (Rogers, to those who don't know, is what T-Mobile is for Germany. Huge brand, good coverage.) Surely not the cheapest way to make calls, but then again I don't know anyone yet, right? Who would I call?

It all went smoothly, I got a number that's easy to memorize and my Nokia works perfectly with Rogers. Glad I bought it from Mr. G – thanks again! :-) Since it was already past noon I had some Thai rice meal at the food court. That's an interesting thing about malls: there's always a central place where all the fast food chains, restaurants and cafés gather around a large patio. Easy to find, you just need to follow the smells.


Mister T does Big Banking Business

Next stop was the Scotiabank. It's interesting to note that everybody in this branch seems to speak Chinese – Richmond is a large Little China, my friends! There are some malls where you won't find a single English word on the signs, and if, it's just in small letters, being the translation of the Chinese sign. So much for English as the official language! ;-) Unfortunately, you need an appointment and there was no one available until January 4th. But Margaret was very kind and helpful, made an appointment with a representative and supplied me with some brochures on the different types of accounts at Scotiabank.

Why did I choose Scotiabank, you might ask? Very simple: it's the partner bank of Germany's Deutsche Bank. They allow me to withdraw money from my checkings account in Germany without charging any extra fees. And I figured the easiest, most cost-effective, and most secure way to transfer money to my new account would be to withdraw cash and deposit at immediately via a teller.

One thing to note: you are required to present a lease form and the contact details of your landlord in order to open an account. Therefore it wasn't too bad after all that I couldn't open the account immediately. Wouldn't have worked out anyways. :)


MacBook? MacBook Pro!

An IT man needs a computer. And since I sold everything in Germany, I needed something new. And shiny. And mobile, being the mobile nomad that I am. I had all my data on backup discs. Two identical HDDs, one in my carry-on, the other in my checked luggage. Just to make sure I don't suffer any data loss. Also, I had copied the most important documents onto encrypted drives on three USB sticks: one in my checked luggage (the one without the HDD), one in my rucksack, one in my briefcase. Paranoid? Nah, not me. :-)

Now a few things on buying an expensive piece of hardware upon arrival: you don't want to use your credit card, because they'll charge you an additional 3% fee for international use. You can't use your German EC card because they won't accept it. How about cash then? Nice idea, but you can only withdraw a limited amount per day and week. And you'll need some cash as well to ... well, eat, drink, get around.

The planning committee therefore decided that it was the best idea to get the money on two seperate days. With a $1000 in my pocket I left the bank, thinking "Act normal, act normal, ACT NORMAL!" It all went well, I returned to my hotel room and deposited the money in my room's safe. Tomorrow the same thing again, and you can go shopping, young man.


Vancouver, here I come

Now it was time to finally see Vancouver. I had been in Richmond all day long, but that was about to change now. Luckily, the newest SkyTrain line "Canada Line" was recently completed, connecting Richmond, YVR and Downtown Vancouver. If that hadn't been the case, I would have been forced to take three buses and spend one and a half hour commuting. Perfect timing then, eh? :-)

So off we go! The SkyTrain is driverless, which means you can sit in the front row and enjoy the show. And that's what I did, being all touristy. ;-)


... and into the underground ...



... and you arrive at Waterfront Station, step out and ... it's just ... like ... whoah.


I'm used to flat cities like Paris or Amsterdam and have never been to New York, so this basically blew my mind. Vancouver is a city of contrasts, with every neighbourhood having a style of it's own. Just a few hundred metres away lies the Burrard Inlet, dividing Vancouver and North Vancouver.



I consulted my Lonely Planet city guide and decided to take the suggested route through Downtown. It's recommended for a reason, and who am I to question the resident author? (I did wander off here and there, but it turns out to be really easy to find your way around.) So many people – and boy, they seem all so happy! That's one thing which struck me the most: people are very forthcoming and polite, quite the opposite to Germany! (No, I'm not trying to ride sterotypes here. But it's so in-your-face, you just can't ignore it!)

From time to time I could see and hear seagulls – reminding me that I finally live at a seaside town! If you're going to change your life, why not do it right? I wanted to live by the sea, and here I am. :-)

While I was strolling through Pacific Centre, Downtown Vancouver's biggest mall, I paid a visit to the local Apple Store to make sure that cash payment will be accepted. "No problem, just let us know and we'll have you pay back there. Ah, and be careful!" Thanks, will do my best!


WYSINWYP – What You See Is Not What You Pay

You should know that, in Canada, whenever you see a price on a display, it's normally without sales taxes. That's was very surprising to me, and I must say it sucks, because it always leaves you calculating. If you go to McDonald's and the price tag says $1.99 – be sure to have more money on you because that's not the price you're gonna pay! What gets added is a Goods And Services Tax (GST) and a Provincial Sales Tax (PST), the first being 5%, the latter 7%, totalling 12%. Boom!

I couldn't really find a grocery store downtown, so I hit a small 7-11 at a corner. Ex-pen-sive! Even without the taxes! So what does someone like me need on his first day in the New World? Apparently it's this: baby oil, Q-tips, shaving cream, water, apples, bananas and beef jerky. (One of my weaknesses ... it's bad stuff, I know.) But there's got to be a better way to get your hands on fruits and veggies, right?


Day 1 – Bar 1

Now what? Such a fabulous day calls for a beer! There are quite a few micro-breweries in Vancouver – no time to lose! I'm German and know a good deal about good beer – let's see what Vancouverites come up with! My city guide suggests I drop by the Railway Club: live music in the evenings, and a british-style pub (i.e. you order and pay directly at the bar). It's a cosy place I picked; I threw my stuff into a corner and got me my first beer. They only serve local beer, and I'm starting off with Red Racer – nice. Not overwhelming, but good. While I'm writing these notes I move on to the next beer: Spring – not bad, but not my favorite: it tastes a little stronger, but lingers on your tongue like a scruffy dog. Still, I felt very relaxed and decided to head back to the hotel. What a day.


Back to Richmond

And that's the end of Day One. On my way to the SkyTrain I picked up the current issue of the Georgia Straight, out of one of those ubiquitious newspaper boxes you can find everywhere. (Again, it feels like a movie.) The SkyTrain was filled with Asians. It's interesting to note that every region in this world seems to have its "typical" immigrants. In Germany we have mainly Turks and Italians. The southern states of the U.S. have Mexicans, and Vancouver has Chinese, or Asian, for that matter. Joined by yours truly, that bald-headed EMEAn: a European-Middle-Eastern-African.

Day One, and I'm ready to wrap Vancouver around me ...

WOOOOSH!

"Wooosh!" – that's what I had written into my calendar to mark this day, December 28th, 2009.

It all starts with a goodbye. Finally the last goodbye, but the hardest. Bye mom, bye sis.

When the plane finally takes off, I finally shed a tear or two. But joyous tears they are, the best kind of tears there is in this world. (Correct me if I'm wrong.) I really did it. Right? Still not quite believing it. My connection flight to Vancouver is not leaving for another five hours. There it is, on the board. VANCOUVER. Among an endless list of other destinations. The magic starts already. There are actually flight going to Vancouver. That Vancouver. And I got a ticket, too! OMG!

Time passes. I eat. I drink. I watch aircraft take off. And there it is: the gate is B32 ... time to move. Once more through check-in, and boarding. I'm afraid others might complain that they can't sleep because my smile is just too big and radiant. ;-) And take-off. There's no denying I finally am going to Vancouver. That's it, next ground to touch will be Canadian. So just 9.5 more hours to go. And again, time passes. I monitor our position on the map. Ireland, Greenland -- it's freezing out there, but I'm all calm, warm and happy. I'm the little centre of my world. Time passes. The in-flight entertainment is pretty good -- I could watch movies, TV shows, listen to albums and radio programmes for days. My choice is "District 9" (excellent), and "Up" (okay), and a documentary about Monty Python (hilarious). Inbetween Curry chicken ... thanks, my first warm meal of the day. Day? Pfff.

TOUCHDOWN! No crash, thanks. Still night. Doesn't look much different. Coming through the gangway I enter Vancouver airport YVR. Carpets, not the cold steel and glass architecture of Hamburg and Heathrow. There's border control. Using my special super-power, I choose the queue that's the slowest. There's a feeling that I just can't seem to shake off: Do I have everything with me? Did I really think of everything? Or did I maybe forget to fill out a form? I present everything to the officer, he takes a quick look and directs me to Immigration. Not even a stamp in my passport? Alrighty then.

"Hello Sir, please go through the glass door and join the queue." There's quite a crowd waiting, from all kinds of countries, everyone with different papers. Some carry heavy folders. I don't have a folder, I just got two papers. Again: Do I really have everything?

And then it's all happening really quick. All they wanted to see was my passport and the letter of permit from the embassy. No proof of funds, no health insurance. I could've come bare naked. Work permit gets printed and stapled into my passport.
– "You are not allowed to work in health services or education."
– "Ok."
– "Welcome to Canada."
No exclamation mark there. She was a little reserved, you might say. ;-)

Will my luggage still be there? I spent at least an hour and a half at border control and immigration ... THERE it is! Relief. So I stack everything on a trolley and, slowly, smiling, make my way to the exits. I hand over my customs declaration card to the joking airport stuff ... and I'm there. In Vancouver. I grab a Taxi (the Indian driver had a looong beard) and get dropped off at La Quinta Inns & Suites, my hotel for the first few days. On my way I'm thinking: at night, everything looks the same. My room is big, and clean. That's a relief, considering that it's a rather low-cost hotel. And I've heard quite a few stories about low-cost hotels in Vancouver! :)

I'm somewhat exhausted, but still awake. I still can't quite believe it. You really did it. You are in Canada. Legally. And are allowed to work. Legally. What could stop you now? (Oh, the usual, you know ...)

Next morning: there is a sun! And this is what it looks like from my window:



See the mountains? SEE THE MOUNTAINS? :-))) OK, day one is starting ... and remember: if you seek an exit (to whatever), there probably is one.

Welcome to Canada!

"WELCOME TO CANADA!" I've heard this phrase a few times now and it still doesn't lose it's magic. It's been a little over a week now ... and I'm still alive and kicking. I'll try to reconstruct the last days as good as I can and post in that order, pretending it had just happened. ;-)

The first days will have a diary style, because so much happened. Sooner or later, the posts will get shorter and be more specific.

Enjoy ... :-)

Love,
- T -