The Beginning...

Hello, and welcome to the blog of my travels and interesting life happenings over the next few years. I decided after about 4 years at my job for the government that I would resign and use the resources that I have to travel and drift between place to place, gaining knowledge and experiences that I have yearned for many years. 

Unfortunately when there is cash flow for travel this usually means that you are working your butt off with not a lot of time to tour. I have been very fortunate to travel to Europe four times over that past 5-6 years but I have always felt that I was only scratching the surface of these places I was visiting. My vacations cut short by that very sweet cash flow that needed to be tended to back in my home town, Ottawa.

So I thought hard and thought long, and decided, being 22 and still full of energy that I would start step one of a series of steps(No particular number will be known until Im back in Ottawa ready for the rest of my life). 


Step 1: Move to a city that I have always found intriguing and have always had a connection with even though I have only ever briefly had the chance to scratch the surface. It is a city, a province, and a Bio/Eco/Cultural region that has always drawn me in and interested me.

So I arrived in Vancouver late in October 2012, the Northern heart of Cascadia. 

I flew here with no plans... Literally. I didn't have a place to live, a place to work, or really... any friends. At no point has this discouraged me.

My first few days/nights were spent couch surfing with a few folks in the area of Kitsilano just south of Downtown Vancouver. It is a pretty preppy, trendy place, very similar to the Glebe back in my hometown of Ottawa.

These folks I surfed with were kind and we went out for drinks to a great bar in Gastown called The Alibi Room. It was Fun and they provided me with a crucial place to live until I pretty much landed on my feet in East Van. 
 
I found a place in East Vancouver along Commercial Drive('The Drive') with two really nice female room mates. The place is just the ground floor of a 70's duplex with the landlord 'Cozimo' and his wife living above us. It is a spacious and cheep place with a quirky decor that you would find at your Grandma's house 10 years ago. It has a spacious kitchen which is a must for me. The house pictured below would prove to be a a great place to apply for jobs and persue a few passions as well.

I hope this is proving an interesting enough read, I have about enough time to write about my job fortunes and a little preview of my trip to Seattle... So I will keep writing for mow while I sit here listening to Crosstown Traffic by Hendrix.

After a few days of job searching I decided to deliver a few resumes to a few local places on The Drive near my house(Within about 4 blocks max). After stopping at only three places I ended up at a heath/organic food grocery that is attached directly to an Indian food restaurant that has a nice western fusion. I spoke to the manager and was hired on the spot as a grocery clerk. Fitting as I love Samosas... especially employee discounted Samosas.

A few weeks later one of the places I stopped off at before Sweet Cherubim called me back and hired me. BierCraft Taps and Tapas is a tapas style restaurant/bar that is also within about 3 blocks of my house. I have been working hard here about twice a week as a busser/host and loving it. it is fast paced, social, and it flies by because it is something new and challenging! Not to mention the great food I eat there for my staff meals...

So the neighbourhood I am in is a quirky, fun, and happy place with a wide variety of people. It can only be described as a Hip, Environmentally and socially conscious crowd that are happy and outgoing. The types of people are of all age ranges, lots of young adult, young families and a few of your typical 60's and 70's peace lovers. Mix in the 4:20, LGBT, Portuguese, and Italian communities and it makes for one interesting neighbourhood.

Here are some photos of the area. Enjoy!

 

The East Van Bike Polo Court. The worlds first Bike Polo specific court!

And my mode of transport

I planned a trip to Seattle for my birthday to see another city that I have always had a great interest in. But that entry will have to wait for another day. Here is a preview hahaha!