It's Moving Day!

Finally! Yes P and I are finally moving into our first real place together today. (It's a long story and yes it's odd but if you want to know, you've got to email me to figure this one out.) I've got a lot of work to do, so I'm not exactly joining him until tonight. Pour guy is mostly doing the moving by himself and with some hired help since I'm not around. But I assure you that I'll be there as soon as I get off of work.

Yesterday was sunny, warm and just beautiful out. So I did try to enjoy what little time I had to soak up the sun and just enjoy that sunlight. I think the count for the month end is 29 days or rain and 2 days of sun! Yes it's been pretty grey here lately. In the mean time, I had better get back to work.

** Photo was taken of Kitsilano. And seemed like a good moving theme for today.

Too Much On My Mind

I think a list of everything going on this week is in order.

1. We are moving tomorrow! Yes finally..
2. Housing Index highest Still.
3. I've got too much laundry to handle.
4. Yes It's Still Raining in Vancouver.
5. The Rodents aren't letting me sleep.
6. Working on having patience.

If that isn't enough, I'm still behind on my work and need to get back on my workout schedule. So between all that rain and being woken up most of the night, I'm tired and need to get going. I've also found out that I've almost run into a fellow blogger (in Switzerland) without even realizing it. You know that six degrees of separation theory. I've always had an ironic way of meeting people, so it fits.

** I almost forgot - It's fellow Blogger Gretchen's Birthday today. She spent a great weekend with her hubby skiing.

:) But don't worry, I'm not in a bad mood. But a little sunshine is in order here.

My Perfect Partner

So just another meme thanks to my good friend Green Haddock.

So here goes.........My Perfect Partner should

1 be my best friend. (Why have a relationship if you can't confide in one another, after all you are with your best friend every day.)
2 be intelligent, witty and amusing. (I definitely need to be with someone who makes me laugh.)
3 be someone who loves me for me, thinks I'm sexy and all that.
4 be motivating and caring.
5 love children and be a good parent.
6 loves the outdoors and doing activities.
7 love traveling.
8 be clean, neat and expect the same from me.
9 loves to explore good food and wine.
10 has some high goals which we can achieve together.

Incidently, I am married to my total hunk and perfect partner.

As for tagging other people, if you want to do this meme go for it. Otherwise I hope that you enjoyed what I have written. :)

Happy Chinese New Year

As we were out taking a leasurely stroll last night, it was hard to deny many were celebrating The Lunar New Year 4704 here in our neighborhood of Vancouver. Every Chinese Restaurant was filled to capacity with everyone welcoming in the Year of the Dog.

Today is the first day of the New Year, with many celebrating with a fireworks display in Hong Kong.
Chinese New Year falls on a different date each year, during the second new moon after the winter solstice which can range from late January to mid-February.

As this Spring Festival get under way, there should be celebrations today in China Town of Vancouver. Celebrations are held on the first Sunday of the Chinese (Lunar) New Year. People celebrate the arrival of spring and the Year of the Dog with thousands at the biggest parade through Chinatown, lions, storytelling and crafts, lucky red packets and much more for the whole family during daylight hours.

With the celebrations of Chinese New Year, I'm sure Fasnacht is in full swing in Switzerland. Brunnen is always one of the first villages to celebrate, which began around January 18th of this year. Lucern is not far behind. Basel should be coming next as well as Biel. It's just that cold time of year! More to follow.

The Challenger 20 Years After

I was out on the playground on January 28, 1986. It was my 4th grade year and I had the worst teacher of my entire scholastic career. Mrs. Hughes came out crying and we really didn't understand why as she was not the sensitive type. We walked in a neatly filed line into our classroom to find a television ready for us to see some shocking news.

As we watched the news channel, we saw the Challenger explode 73 seconds after it's take off, disintegrating into space, killing all seven crew members on board.

Even more shocking than the Space Shuttle Challenger blowing up in space was the fact that there was the first female teacher ever up there. Krista McAullife was her name. She had children and a husband, which put a big lump in my throat that day. I guess I was a little closely identified to the NASA program at the time because two of my classmates throughout those years brought us on tours at Moffet Field. We were those lucky ones because my classmates' parents worked at NASA, which afforded us the opportunity to tour the site extensively each year.

I really wasn't aware of how much impact the diaster actually had, but clearly it had more ties throughout the world and even in Switzerland than my 4th grade mind could imagine. I too had no idea that the explosion of 1986 would have been caused by a design flaw that 20 years later we still do not understand. I guess my 4th grade mind never thought the space shuttle was a world endeavor until I brightened my experiences and moved to Switzerland.

Ironically, I don't remember what I was really doing the next time the Space Shuttle Columbia exploded as it was not as a dramatic of a feeling for me as it was for the experience in 4th grade. That image above is still as clear in my mind as it is in the photo above.

What were you doing, the day the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded?

HBC No Longer Truely Canadian

The oldest Company in Canada will no longer be known as just Canadian anymore. Hudson's Bay Company has officially been acquired by a South Carolina billionaire Jerry Zucker. Zucker plans on revitalizing the company to bring it up from its current slump. Many Canadians are scared of this buy out because it just won't truely be Canadian anymore. If there are positive points in this change, it would be saving the HBC from going under. I guess we will just have to wait and see if there are any negative effects here in Canada right away.

Happy Birthday Mom

It's my mom's birthday today, along with Australia Day too. Ironically our birthday's are exactly two weeks apart. So if my birthday is on a Thursday, hers is also. P and I both sent E-cards since we are so good at sending birthday cards in the mail. But I did better this year and sent her a present in the mail. She found a package containing a photo album full of photos of our family plus P since she even calls him her son. Isn't that sweet.

I'm not really sure how old she is. After I turned 29 last year, she didn't think it was appropriate anymore to say she was 29 again. But since this year I'm actually 30, I'm still wondering if she is still turning 39 again.

Ironically this is about the 5th year since my grandmother died. She actually had a heart attack on my mom's birthday. It was the first time ever in my mom's life that she never got an early happy birthday call from her mother. It makes me a little sad thinking about it and it must be a bit hard for my mom each year now knowing that her mother would have been there to call if it weren't for what happened. Since then, I've just tried to make up for it that much more. I know I can't replace that wonderful feeling but I try...

Happy 39th Birthday Mom! And Young at Heart...

2 Days of Sun

Besides dreaming about being in Klosters where you can get a flat for $250K, I'm also trying to get outside. Why? Because we have sun for the second day in a row! This is unheard of for this month here in Vancouver. I'm in shock, all smiles and itching to get outside. So yes, I'll be outside as soon as I can. Possibly I'll be back with a few pics, but I'm not so sure I'll want to bring out my camera for this trip, just yet.

I'll leave you with this sunrise pic. But I must get outside before the weather changes.

Lovely

Isn't the view just lovely thanks Kam.

With the day being so lovely Outside, I just wanted to take it in. I guess it was more than a monumental day for another reason too. I mailed my Canadian permanent residency application off today. So now I just have to play the wait and see game.

Here's the timeline so far for my application.

Started Finger prints for police clearances October 15th 2005
All 5 police clearances in hand January 15 2005
Marriage Certificate received December 21 2005
All other documents and fees January 23 2005
Application sent to Vegreville January 24 2005

Relentless Vancouver Rain

Yesterday was like most of the other days in January with the relentless rain here in Vancouver. Even the girls whom I tutor told me their dad wants to move to Phoenix because he's tired of this stuff. I had to laugh because if you know their dad, you know it was a joke to some extent. The way they said it just made me fall over laughing. We are all really tired of this rain.

But this morning, the local news was reporting sun! So I had to check out a few of the web cams just to prove to myself it actually was happening. My favorite site has a good amount of information on Vancouver weather and a wonderful webcam pic always.

This photo courtesy KatKam which has a sophisticated system and takes wonderful pics of the Burrard Street Bridge into Kitsilano. There are many links to the Vancouver Mainland weather cams too. I just had to post a second one of our sunny morning.

My Favorite Area which I still have yet to visit is Point Roberts, known to some as Point Dick. Giggles. This area is actually owned by the US but you have to be in Canada in order to get to it. Point Roberts is one of the funny border issues when the US got control of the area. Check out the Point Roberts link because it has a live webstream.

The last photo is from West Vancouver.

It's Election Day

Today is election day in Canada. Many people are claiming the vote will be determined by the voters of British Columbia. I'm not one to really talk about my political views, but I'm so happy all of the political ads are over. On election day, canidates are not aloud to campaign. What a relief. Many of the main candidates such as Paul Martin and Jack Leighton already voted this morning.

So far, polls say there have been a big jump in advanced poller turnouts. There are a total of 1,634 people running in 308 ridings in the general election, which is the country's 39th. They represent 15 political parties, plus Independent candidates of Canada.

Tomorrow we should know what the new government of Canada will be like.

** Looks like Stephen Harper is our new prime minister in a minority government. **

Thinking Torino

Since information about Torino is starting to be broadcasted everywhere, I thought I'd do a short little blurb about it too. One Washington Post writer gets paid to blog about it! Imagine how fun that must be. Yeah I have to go to Italy to report on the Olympics - Send me, send me!

A bit about Torino. Torino is located just south of Switzerland in the area known as Piedmont. If you were to go towards the Lake of Maggiore, then you would be heading towards Torino. Looks like the weather this week is nothing but wonderful sun. I'm sure I won't be the only one tuning into the Olympics when they finally start next month.

Grape Juice For Adults

Today I was offered some wine of my choice, so I picked the best sounding stuff out of the bunch. I giggle when I hear a name like this, but really for anyone who doesn't speak any French it must sound incredibly funny to hear the name for the first time.

Luckily for me, I'm not in that first timer category but I just had to take a photo of the wine bottle for my own viewing pleasure. Don't you think it's just a sticky name for a French wine...

Would you like some Phoque Rouge Also?

Click on the photo to enlarge. This particular wine was just average, but then again when all wine is so expensive in BC you usually just go for average all of the time. Phoque Rouge comes from the South of France, maybe Coteaux Des Baronnies with a Syrah, Grenache grape. The wine is a soft and round dry wine which is best with meat and cheeses. That was exactly what we used it for.

Fait Le Bob

I'd definitely would rather be sledding today. As the month passes away, I was thinking of this time of year in Switzerland. The snow usually starts falling heavily which makes for a perfect time to head up and "fait le bob".

This is a photo I took on the 8th of February in 2003 as we started sledding down the hill with 2 year olds. They love this type of thing and are still small enough to fit on the sled with you.

It was really good exercise too. We went for 3 full runs which lasted a few hours and was a lot of work on my stomach muscles and legs. But as you can see on this day, it was quite warm and so pleasurable to be sledding on a road that cars use.

In the village of les avants, the entire village is not plowed just so everyone can sled during the dull hours where traffic comes to a stand still. Let me tell you this was one of the best kept secrets to the area and I was so glad to have had to chance to experience sledding up there. I'm sure there are many great areas for sledding in Switzerland but this area above Montreux sports views to die for too.

For the Avid Skier

If you like to ski (especiallly in Switzerland), maybe this will perk up a bit of interest for you.

Last weekend while P was literally slaving away putting on 3 coats of paint in the bedroom, I was slaving away on my computer. I usually keep the television on for background noise and sometimes I just happen to land on a good show every once in a while. CBC ended up having race highlights from a race I had reported about the week before from Murren area.

Well that very crazy Inferno race is happening this weekend. It's called the Inferno which is one of the most demanding and challenging races ever. For the avid skier, it would take you about 45 minutes to complete the ski run. Talk about heaven! A 45 minute ski run is just crazy. But what is even crazier is the location of the run itself. It starts at the Shilthorn and ends in Lauterbrunnen. Check out this Swiss map with some magnifying glass to see more.

For some of you who don't really know where those two villages are, I'll give it to you in meters. You start at 2970m Shilthorn and ending roughly at 800m in Lauterbrunnen. Another look at how far the run is, imagine starting at "the top of the world" and finishing roughly near some of the falls in the valley of Interlaken. Your average ski hill will be over 800m at the bottom.

If you are interested in you can see a few panoramic webcams showing all of these areas of Switzerland and a map of the area of Interlaken.

Immigrating to Canada

I know there are a few of my readers out there who are actually going through the same process as me or might be considering immigrating to Canada. I'll let you in on a few secrets and facts.

• First off, the outrageous immigration fee proposed back in the 1990's was done by Paul Martin because at the time there was a deficit in the budget. The landing fee doesn't go towards any type of improvement in the process or benefit immigration at all. Martin now wants to completely abolish the fee in 3 years (if elected).


• You have to take at least one medical exam by a Designated Medical Practitioner (DMP). The exam usually is only valid for one year, so know when you will apply for immigration. Here's the link to the immigration guide, where you'll find more info.
  


• You need finger prints for your police clearance from every country you have lived in for more than 6 months. Since I needed one from France and Switzerland, I really had to search to find the correct links for police clearance. Most charge a fee which you should call to clarify as they are changing. You'll need to get your fingerprints done on stock card. I used the RCMP which is acceptable for even FBI prints.
  


• Request to expedite your finger prints if you know you will need them in less than 3 months by the time you apply for immigration. I did not and I've had to wait too long for my prints to come back. The FBI took 3 months from time of postmark.
  


• I joined the yahoo Canada Immigration group which has been so helpful answering my questions.
  

Knowing that I could have benefited from a blogger who told me some good links and steps to get through immigration, I'm happy to help out where I can.

I'm a Superhero

I wonder what I'd do if I was actually something else because I enjoy my superhero life. Thanks to CanadianSwiss for finding this for me.

Your Superhero Profile

Your Superhero Name is The Samurai Light Your Superpower is Psychic Your Weakness is Chocolate Your Weapon is Your Gravity Arrows You Relish Being an Expat Traveler Your Mode of Transportation is Water Skis

What's your Superhero Name?

I'm wondering how well my water skis will get me over the freezing cold water tomorrow? I never knew this was a true form of transportation? Maybe the tarot card reader got a bit confused.

Permanent Residence Update

Well I got the much needed document I've been waiting for in the mail today. That makes two pieces of mail this week which I was nervously waiting for. I might add that there is a very interesting history on mailboxes from around the world at Wikipedia.

So now I've got all of my police report documents which I have to send in with my PR application. What does that mean, I've got to get my butt in gear, make photocopies, payments and get the application out the door.

I guess this is almost a benchmark into the next step of my journey, the long wait! Now I must get back to work so that I can actually mail the document out.

A Blonde Joke

After having one horrible nightmare this morning, I thought a blond joke was in order. I'm in no mood for more than posting nothing but the best blond joke ever. You have to check it out.

Getting Things Done

I've been really busy making a lot of phone calls this morning trying to get answers. I've been lucky that I haven't have to wait all too long to talk to any of the operators. As a result, time is flying and really I feel like I don't have all too much to report. But I'll wrap things up with a bit of news.

• 2 weeks and 1 day until we move into our first apartment together. (Mind you that we are nervous as can be because we still don't know when we can move in yet. They will be painting, putting in new carpets and doing a lot of cleaning before we move in.)
  


• I don't have to get another medical exam for my permanent residence application. We are now only waiting on the French paperwork which got mailed to a non-existent address. Here's to hoping we speed things up soon!
  


• Prices of Packs of Cigarettes might be lowered in Switzerland.


• It's definitely still raining hard, hard enough to make it difficult to fall asleep at night.


• You can now ski in Dubai.
  

Showered With Gifts

Last night we had a little birthday gathering, nothing big at all but P stayed before he had to go off to Curling. By that point, we opened my gifts so that he could see them too. Boy was I spoiled! I was given 12 enchanting liquor glasses, a limited edition Betty Crocker CookBook and a book to hold all of my recipes.

Talk about being showered with presents and an incredible dinner. I know, I should have taken pictures of it all. It was so delicious. We had appetisers of baked egg rolls. Followed by the main course of greek salad, salmon stuffed with crab to die for, baked new potatoes and some asparagus. By that time I was too stuffed to eat dessert but since it was a strawberry cheesecake, I had to try a tiny sliver. Complete heaven.

I found the facts below from a birthday site and just for laughs thought I'd post the results. Interesting... I'm not sure what it's trying to say or get me in trouble perhaps.

Your Birthdate: January 12

You're a dynamic, charismatic person who's possibly headed for fame. You tend to charm strangers easily. And you usually can get what you want from them. Verbally talented, you tend to persuade people with your speaking and writing. You are affectionate and loving, but it's hard for you to commit to any one relationship. Your strength: Your charm Your weakness: Your extreme manipulation tactics Your power color: Indigo Your power symbol: Four leaf clover Your power month: December

What Does Your Birth Date Mean?

And about that rain - well it's back and wet as usual. Makes me not want to run in the rain! It's that California habit.

Is That Sun

Imagine what happens when there hasn't really been any sun for 28 straight days. Everyone that could possibly exist decides to enjoy the outdoors all at the same time!

So yesterday we had to get out too and enjoy a nice long walk. Although it wasn't warm, it did lack the downpour we have been getting all week long. The sun was certainly a very nice and welcomed change.

In some areas of North Vancouver, the sun was welcomed news as the evacuation ban was lifted with fear there could be another mudslide since the ground was getting very saturated. If you click on the first pic, you will find large amounts of people down walking their dogs. We were so amazed at how many people were out. I guess everyone wanted to enjoy the change in weather.

And the last photo is just how enjoyable the weather was outside with so many people out and walking about. This photo was taken from Kitsalano area. As a special treat near the turn around point of our walk, we saw two eagles that could have possibly found their nest for the spring. I did take photos of the Bald Eagles, but I'm debating uploading them because you have to see them at 100% size which is over 1.2 megs.

Reflecting in Fours

I'm doing the Meme of 4's which I took from Kristin, which I changed around ever so slightly because my mind won't get me think like that at the moment. It's time to dream and reflect a little.

Four jobs I’ve had in my life:

1. Swim Instructor
2. Swim Coach
3. Swimmer
4. Slave for a while.

Four movies I could watch over and over:
(Another name thing - I suck at this!)
1. A movie in French (so I can adjust better and keep learning)
2. A foreign Documentary.
3. If it were 1986 - Beverly Hills Cops
4. Spring Break

But honestly I really can't watch a movie more than once anymore. I feel like I'm wasting my time and would rather be doing something productive. I know I should chill out, but I can't.

Four places I’ve lived:
1. Vancouver, British Columbia
2. Prague, Czech Republic
3. Montreux, Switzerland
4. St. Louis, France (on Basel Border)

Four TV Shows I love to watch:
(I'm so bad with names. I'm not sure I'll remember!)
1. Today Show
2. Rick Steve's travels (PBS)
3. Don't Leave Home Without Your Passport (PBS)
4. Veronica Mars - (Somehow I think it went off the air again here.)

Four places I’ve been on vacation:
1. Amsterdam, NL to Antwerp, Belgium
2. Puerta Vallarta, Mexico
3. From Paris to Cannes, France
4. Bavaria, Germany

Four websites I visit daily:
1. Most of my blogroll
2. Swiss Info
3. Washington Post
4. Yahoo Mail

Four of my favorite foods:
1. Sushi
2. Nanaimo Bars
3. Mixed Green Salad - either chinese chicken or greek. ( I'm getting hungry just speaking about it!)
4. Dark Swiss Chocolate

Four places I’d rather be:
1. Montreux, Switzerland
2. Somewhere on a beach on the Mediterranean Coast.
3. Skiing in Europe - Switzerland or Austria will do.
4. Maldives

Four things I'd rather be doing
1. Running in 10C weather without the rain
2. Living in Europe with P
3. Cruising the Coast and Beaches of Mexico
4. Decorating my dream house the way I'd love it.

The coolest thing about yesterday was how many comments I got from all of my readers. It certainly made me very happy for all the wishes I got. Thanks guys!

Cannabis Lobby Up For Vote

When I first arrived in Switzerland, I had no idea why there were so many shops with cannibis signs advertised in the window. I felt like I was in Amsterdam again. I wasn't really aware cannibis at the time was treated just as it is in Canada, like a secret that was known by all.

For curiousity purposes I began asking some of my friends about the laws here in Switzerland regarding Cannabis. Sure enough, at the time I thought the laws were as free as being in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Amazing.

What I gathered was you could basically consume it as long as it wasn't associated with dangerous drug activity. At any given point when taking the train, you could easily smell people smoking it in the form of a cigarette as you walked around. But then I started seeing shops that were normally open being suddenly shut down. You know something is wrong when their windows were put up with newspapers. I had a friend who was pro-cannabis and informed me a lot more about the happenings and found very educational.

Really I had no idea you could have hemp tea in a cannabis coffee shop. Sure there were other items and the one shop looked just like a bar. People in Switzerland openly grew their cannabis for a while too.

But then in 2003 the government started cracking down on dealers who supplied occasional pot smokers. The crack down is what puzzled me because it was obvious the Parliament was avoiding the issue too. So there was only one thing for the pro-cannabis to do.They are standing up for their rights again as the pro-cannabis club has gotten enough signatures, 100,000 votes actually, to put the decriminalization of cannabis up for a nationwide vote.

I do think this vote could actually sway a landmark of happenings and actually help Canada if they were to decriminalize the drug as well. The Swiss Info article is actually a pretty good read. Of course this is such a controversial issue throughout the world and takes a long time to study and make change.

It's My Big Day

Not so long ago my parents were rushing to the hospital at some insane hour and into the delivery room. Now that not so long ago has turned into 30 years. It was 30 years ago today that I was brought into this world.

I'm not sure if I would have thought that I would have traveled across the Atlantic and lived out my dream. One thing is for certain, I would have never have thought that the first boyfriend I had would be born just one day after me (January 13th) while the last boyfriend I ever had (that is before meeting my wonderful husband) would have been born the day before me (on January 11th). I do think that is rather ironic, but I'm glad I've got my wonderful husband and I am living in Canada.

Unfortunately I really don't have firm plans for the day. I'm working until really late, not by choice. I'll take what free time and breaks I have and enjoy the moment being with the one I love. My mom was already thinking about me and sent me a wonderful card and something for me to get that I wanted. And I already know P has something planned for me and I'm sure we'll make something better of the weekend. Ah surprises. I do hope I have a few of them.

**Did I mention that I hate mice in my house. I didn't wish for them on my big day but it looks like someone else wanted them to come out and play with me today. Let's just hope it doesn't jump out while I'm cleaning.

I've added a picture from Finnland which my Swiss friend sent me this morning as an e-card, compliments of Digital-postcard.ch.

Swiss Get One Last Chance

The Swiss Ski team will get one last chance this weekend to qualify for the Torino Olympics which take place in February. The location is at Lauberhorn in Wengen.

The Lauberhorn race takes place overlooking the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau mountains in the Bernese Oberland and is famous at home and abroad. This will be the 76th annual race which originally was a competition between the English and the Swiss to see who were better skiers. If you are up for it, you can even be a spectator for free with admission into the ski resort Wengen.

It sounds like a great opportunity and something I never got to do. If I were in Interlaken again, I'm sure I'd love to go up that way and check it out.

Freaky Happenings

I was sitting here typing away this morning when my battery connection just started burning and caught on fire! I'm not joking. I'm not so happy because now I have to get a new battery today because my laptop will only run for about 3.5 more hours, if that. It's so odd that is short circuited, but it has been on it's last legs for a while. I'm not really sure if I should be reporting this to Apple or what?

And since it did short circuit all on its own, is it my fault? Would I get a free cord out of it? I'm just so so glad that nothing happened to my little place here because that would have been extremely bad.

I guess I need to get moving and do some quick research....

Quickly in other news, my email was down last night but P told me that my prints from France had been sent on Nov. 5th. They have to resend them because they were sent to the wrong address. So it means that I'm so close to finally sending in my PR application.

Angelina Jolie is definitely pregnant as both agents confirm and have photos to prove it. I'm sure it's already in the news in Europe...

*** Update ***
After about 3 hours of diligent phone conversations and a trip to the other side of town, I'm the owner of a new power adapter. I'm lost without my computer so I'm so happy that I got it within the same day. And just in time for the big day tomorrow. :)

Rays of Sunshine

I woke up this morning to the weather forecaster joking that we actually might see a little sunlight today. Then I went out for my 45 minute jaunt and I actually saw a little bit of sunlight. We actually saw bits and pieces of blue in the sky rather than a straight down pour of rain we have been experiencing. It looked a bit like the photo except more blue since it's earlier in the day.

Last night Vancouver had a lot of rain, enough to make it difficult to fall asleep. In fact yesterday I think it rained something like 51cm. That's a big chunk of rain for one day. I was just very happy to not go outside thinking that I actually need an umbrella. You know that type of rain that just soaks you to the core, we've been having that for the past 25 days or so. It all started just after our wedding and once my parents left to go back home. They were tricked into thinking Vancouver is just fine with the weather...

But before I get too excited about this break, I'm doubtful it will be around for more than another few hours. I'll leave you with another one of my favorite places to walk every morning while I was living in Montreux. The weather in this photos reminds me of what it is like for us here today.

Isn't It Ironic

Last night I went to a birthday dinner. The birthday party wasn't for me but for a friend of the family. It was ironic that I have known this person for over a year and just today figured out it was her birthday. It was also ironic that one of my long time friends of 21 years turned 30 yesterday, thus the two of them having the same birthday.

A great aunt of mine also had the birth date of January 8th. I remember my mom telling me how excited my great aunt was when she learned I could be born on her birthday. I did have a privilege to meet that great aunt on her 100th birthday of all things. As well, another friend celebrated his 30th birthday yesterday too. I guess January birthday's are popular with whom I know. I guess it's a bit ironic.

What was even better about going out last night is that we had so much lovely food left over that I'll have enough left over mixed salad and lasagna not to make dinner tonight. (And I might add the lasagna was made by a professional chef.) How cool is that?

As we were getting ready to leave, a man that I was speaking to for the last hour, told me his birthday was this Thursday. Thursday? I quickly put two and two together and exclaimed, "Wow - I guess you must be born on January 12th too!" He was a bit shocked that someone next to him had a January 12th birth date. Ironically, I also had a roommate back in 2000 who had the same birthday as me. So I'm up to 2 other people that I've met in my lifetime with the same birth date as me.

And since I'm on a birthday kick - I found this website that tells you who's birthday is on your birthday also. Kirstie Alley and Howard Stern round off the list for me, of course both are in a different age bracket. I'll be sure to list my favorite hunk of the day on Thursday too. No it's not someone listed or linked here.

Ironically it's the 21st full day of rain. Today it's really pouring down like "cats and dogs". I just hope it lets up a little so I don't mind walking outside.

I do have one question for you guys though. Should I be happy about turning 30? It will be just another day for me this year as work calls for me until the wee hours.

We Got Our Sun

After Canadian Swiss sent me thoughts of sunshine last night, we woke up to a bit of that this morning. I was really shocked to see even some part of the sky full of sun, which turned out to look at bit like that first photo I took in Campbell River over Christmas.

Not to say that the sun will last for long because it's quite cloudy, windy and chilly out today. No not that cold but cold enough that we weren't wearing hats and got red ears when we went out for a long stroll. I'm not complaining because last night I had so much energy and really wanted to go outside but the down pour of rain told me to just stick it out indoors. Instead I did get a lot of work done on the computer and stayed up as late as P.

Now if you were going to compare it to a Montreux morning, I guess it could have looked like this from the inside. But of course Montreux is so beautiful because you really get to the details of the days go by with such a great view. I always new when it would rain because we could see the storms coming in from the Valais or over from the top of the mountain range. So even on a stormy morning it wa a treat to see further than most...

I do also have to mention that my girlfriend of 21 years turns 30 today. Yes she's just 4 days older than me. And while growing up she really made sure to rub that in from time to time. You know the times when you get to go to a PG 13 movie, driving at 16 and the 21st birthday in the US. But I guess those times are reversing as we get older and I could start bragging that I'm not that old yet. Well at least not for four more days. ;-)

Cashing in on IKEA Savings or Not

Today we had a list of places to run in and out of at a fairly quick pace. First stop led us into IKEA's end of the year Christmas savings sale. Yes we caved into the pressure. I've always scratched my head and pondered long after I walk into IKEA why it is so popular.

Am I not getting it? Do I fail to see why people are so drawn to the poor quality, poor workmanship and great price of their products? Something still puzzles me though. Why would a poor soul buy furniture which might last a short while instead of saving up a bit longer to get quality furniture which could last forever. This was our discussion as P and I walked around the crowded IKEA warehouse empty handed.

Needless to say, we checked everything out, were so unpleased with IKEA that we walked across the street to check out real custom made sofas. I sat on one sofa that I could just melt in. Although these sofas were at least 3 times the cost of IKEA's, they looked as if you could use them for a long while. And you don't have to put the sofa together once you've bought it.

We decided against both stores but I think we have found a sofa we would like to buy from Costco. The main problem is that we are moving at the end of the month and we don't want the sofa to arrive until we are at our new place. We also didn't want to buy anything more until we move into our new place because you know how burdensome it is to have way too much stuff to move.

What we did accomplish was walking out of Costco with just two items and 4 passport photos for my permanent residency application. The man at the door told us how brave we were to have gone to Costco to just buy two items (olive oil and peanut butter). Little did he know we actually accomplished two other tasks at the same time. We also ended up eating lunch there because I was too starving to wait, and getting photos taken. It was a long meal because we met a friendly lady who was quite interesting to listen to about why Vancouver traffic is just getting too insane.

After that, we went into the not so crowded Superstore and bought enough for the weekend eats. Around 2pm, nobody seems to be around as they have all gone back home after the morning rush. While driving home, we got drenched in water. It's been 20 days of rain so far. I guess we can expect more tomorrow too.

In other news, it's only 5 more days until my big 30! P's aunt celebrated her bday today and a close friend will celebrate her 30th tomorrow.

Rainy Day Blues

Montreux Switzerland Spring 2003
Originally uploaded by thnkfst.

We've had 19 days of straight rain here in Vancouver. I'm wishing we could just experience one day like this photo in Montreux. Mind you that we have had a few days where there has been beautiful sun all afternoon, so it can't be all that bad. Still I miss it. I figured we could all use some inspiration so here's one beautiful photo I took one day in 2003.

Stereotyping the Swiss

Don't you love Stereotypes, especially when you're an expat moving to a new country. People tend to stereotype others no matter where you live in the world. Aren't Italians Hot Blooded, Germans Cold, and Canadians always nice. The list could go on forever, but usually they are completely wrong.

Stereotypes only exist because they are like historical rumors which we hear from tv, the media or in the work place through cultural jokes or what people think the "typical" stereotype of a certain country is.

For me, I've stereotyped people from my experiences and that is exactly what Swiss Info has done in a study. The survey showed the Swiss to be much different than previously thought.

Aren't the Swiss punctual, persevering, reliable, introverted and tradition-bound? I found that many Swiss Germans differed from the French speaking Swiss. This study found the Swiss to be more open-minded than one might have assumed and that was all. It's a pretty interesting study which turns assumptions into misnotions (if that is a word) after all and definitely not what I found the Swiss to be.

I'm sure we all have funny stereotypes - what are yours?

5 Weird Things About Me Bug

Expat tagged me for the 5 Weird Things About Me Bug. So as I remain healthy and take all of my organic vitamins, I'll try to do everyone a favor to let them know how weird I am. Really this one is hard for me, but I've come up with a few crazy things about me.

5 Weird Things About Me

1. I hate using a desktop and have been addicted to me laptop computer for about 4 years now. I can't stand not being able to move around the house and type wherever I choose. Thank goodness for laptops!

2. I think men that have shaved bodies are so sexy. You know swimmers, bikers and triathletes. I'm sure this is because I was a swimmer for 14 years. As a competitive swimmer men do shave their legs and when that happens, you see all of their features a lot more. It's great eye candy especially when checking out a triathlon or bike racing tour.

3. My eyes are allergic to chlorine and the reaction is extremely horrible when it happens but it's only happened to me about 3 times in my life. I think my eyes are super sensitive as I'm not a fan of getting water in my face despite swimming for 14 years.

4. I used to go to the gym 4 hours a day, 6 days a week until I moved to Switzerland. From that time on, I've fought to step inside. The outdoors have won and since I've taken up running which is something you would have never caught me doing prior to my move to Europe.

5. I've always thought and dreamed I would marry a foreigner and live in another country than what I grew up in. I guess my dreams have come true. I'm lucky to have married such a sweet and terrific guy.

So I'm not one for tags, but anyone who might want to use it, feel free.

Tax Haven in Winter Playground

If you've ever checked out Pilatus or Titlis mountains of Switzerland or enjoyed the winter resort of Engelberg, then you've probably ventured into the canton of OW. OW as it is written on a license plate attracts many winter enthusiasts for skiing and snowboarding every year. You'll see people piling into train cars in Lucern to make the trek up to the mountain. But there is something more about the canton now that 2006 is in full swing.

Obwalden now has the distinction of claiming itself as a tax haven. In 2005 Obwalden was the highest tax paying canton in Switzerland. Now in 2006 Obwalden will become the lowest tax haven in Switzerland and quite the change. One of the reasons for lowering its tax rate might have been because it was considered as one of Switzerland's poorest, with very little growth in the modern age. The main goal of the canton is to attract more people to the area. Here's a unique map to help you locate the canton.

Winter Resorts Full With Travelers

With a portrait like this from Grindelwald during the winter festival of 2005, who wouldn't want to hit the slopes of Switzerland.

Switzerland is reporting a better than expected season thus far for the winter resorts. With a hefty reported snow fall in Switzerland, resort managers say great snow conditions and an improved economy have contributed to bringing tourists back on the slopes. Many of the ski resorts were operating at or near capacity over the new years holiday. Of course, the man made stuff has helped the ski hills too.

The good news is some of the resorts in the Bernese Oberland which have really had bad years previously have reported the best snowfall in nearly a decade. Resorts including Grindelwald, Gstaad, Wengen and Adelboden say they were nearly all booked out. Adelboden will host the World Ski Cup this weekend actually, so I'm sure there won't be a lack of people.

I've been to Gstaad and one reason why we did not stay there was because of the lack of snow at the time. Gstaad reported to have a quarter more skiers tackling the slopes and 58 of its 62 slopes open.

This certainly must be great news for many skiers and snowboarders. I just wish that good fortune happened while I was there and wanting to hit the slopes. Oh well, there's still the future to look forward to.

School in Switzerland

One of the most fascinating things for me while I was living in Switzerland was learning about how kids go about school each day. There was a great article in Swiss Info today which reminded me of some of the differences in a Swiss School. Here are some of the differences I've noticed.

Swiss school hours are still quite odd for my standards. Kids walk home for lunch. However, Bern is the first city to begin daycare during school hours. Can you believe this is a first for them? Growing up in the US, it's a bit odd, but since I lived in Switzerland I realized this was part of every day life.

Kids take off their shoes while in school and trade them in for slippers. This is one concept I'd love to see everyone do because it sure would cut down more on dirt and clutter. From what I've seen here in Canada, the places to put your backpacks and coats are the same as in Switzerland.

Kids in Switzerland and France for that matter usually go to school on the year round calendar. It makes for easier vacations and less time out of school. It's something I think all schools should follow because it forces kids to be ready for school all the time.

So the biggest change that is happening in Switzerland is that kids are starting to have more supervised after school care. It means that more parents are probably working today compared to years in the past. Many Swiss schools are large and quite recognizable buildings such as the one in the photo above. If I'm not mistaken, most kids might still be on break. But I guess we will just have to wait and see on this one.

What 2006 Brings

I'm not one for making new years resolutions nor is P but I certainly can look ahead for what the future will hold for us this year. Of course I've had a lot of life changing things happen in this past month because we are married now.

Since we are married, we are finally going to be living closer to each other, more like in the same apartment. Finally! It's been a hard time basically living in another city during the week and only seeing P on the weekends. So by the end of the month, we will finally have our own apartment together. I should be able to surprise P a few nights by making him dinner but that all depends when I get off work which is later than him.

We also will be sending in the Permanent Residence application for Canada. I started the process back in October by sending out my finger prints to the respected countries. There's still a tie up with two of these countries, so let's hope this get back to me soon. I'll be applying for a work permit which doesn't have limitations attached to it. I'll have freedoms which I haven't had since 2001.

It's been a long time since I've actually felt like any other person from the country I was living in. I hope for this dream to come true by the end of summer. I'll be free to live where I want and be part of a community. It's what I've dreamt of doing since I left the US in 2001. So there will be a lot of busy times in the next month or so, but it's all a welcomed change for what is ahead for the future. I know some of you will have big changes as well in your future and I can't wait to read about them as they unfold.

Berchtold's Day

Tomorrow is Berchtold's Day which occurs on January 2. The day honors Duke Berchtold V, who founded Bern, the capitol of Switzerland, in the twelfth-century. According to legend, he left on a hunt declaring he would name the city for the first animal he killed, which was a bear, or Bern in German. I'm glad I looked this one up because I had no idea what the day off was really for. I'm just happy I get it off too.

Happy New Year

As I turned on the comfort tube this morning, all I hear about is the year in review in a bit of a sarcastic way. I'm not sure why everyone seems to like to portray the recent year this way but it seems, the internet is another mode of sarcasm as well.

Here in North America, you can experience anything from a recap of the year through cartoon humor or wondering why they don't really announce to many new born baby stories any more. At least one thing is for certain, there were a lot of people today that woke up a lot later than the previous day.

I think the most exciting thing for me is that I know I'm off from work tomorrow. :)


Happy New Year! Hope your year is full of happy times and an exciting future.